https://fallows.substack.com/p/the-rankings-racket-goes-to-kindergarten
The long-term topic is the highly pernicious school-ranking racket, which I wrote about last month and have dealt with for years. For instance, in this Atlantic article from 2001, and this from 2009. I also confronted it directly 25 years ago, during a two-year stint as the editor of US News, which of course has been a pioneer in the rankings business.
The recent news is the incredible-but-true decision by that same US News to expand its list of supposedly “best” institutions from colleges and universities, to grade schools.
That’s right: No longer need you be satisfied with finding out which among Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford has supposedly “pulled ahead” of its rivals to get the #1 spot this year. Now you can also see how your local grade school is supposedly going up or down the reputational ladder against hundreds or thousands of others in your state.
*Piece includes audio link to writer’s interview by Michele Norris on NPR.
From James Fallows' book, China Airborne (2012), pp. 10.
UPDATE Thanks for excellent questions. I am leaving now but will return for a cleanup run around 6pm EST today and will answer as many more as I can at that time
Bonus Update at 4:30pm It will be a little later than 6, because I have some other press stuff to do today about my Obama piece in the magazine (no link because it's not online), but I will return some time this evening and spend another hour going through Qs. Thanks for interest.
Next-to-last Update 9:30pm, starting one more hour's pass through the Qs, working down on basis of best ranking. Thanks to all for interest.
Really last update 10:45pm Have to leave now. Have left more questions unanswered than I have dealt with, but have done my best. Appreciate the serious questions and attention. Have gotten a slew of "504 error when storing" problems in saving the last few reponses, so maybe that is a sign. Thanks to all.
Here's a little more background on my career:
I've been a national correspondent for The Atlantic since the late 1970s. Through about half that time I've lived in Washington DC. In the other half, I've lived in and reported from Seattle, Berkeley, Austin, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, and Beijing. I spent two years as chief White House speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, two years as the editor of US News & World Report, and six months as a program designer at Microsoft. I'm also an instrument-rated private pilot. Verification
I recently finished a long cover story about President Obama -- success? failure? genius? pawn? -- that will
appear in the next issue of The Atlantic, online next week. Here's a link to my [current magazine archive] (http://www.theatlantic.com/james-fallows/magazine-articles/) and my blog at [TheAtlantic.com] (http://www.theatlantic.com/james-fallows/). I write often about politics, foreign policy, and technology.
I'll answer as many questions as I can!
Update 2 Back eight hours later, ready to take another pass. 2A Have done another pass. Thanks for the good questions.
Update Ninety minutes in, I need to take a break because of -- a radio show, similarly on debates. I really enjoy these questions and will return late tonight to answer as many more as I can. Thanks!
Greetings Reddit world. I enjoyed the session I did here six months ago, after my "Obama Explained" article appeared in the Atlantic. Here's the transcript of that session.
In our new issue, I have an article sizing up Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in their roles as debaters. This is part of a series I have done going back over the past dozen years. Here is one on Bush-v-Gore in 2000, Bush-v-Kerry in 2004, and Obama-v-McCain in 2008. This new piece has some items that might seem surprising -- for instance, why, in my view, Romney is better at debating than he is at any other campaign skill, and Obama is weaker in debating than in the rest of his arsenal.
The relevant point of my background is that I once worked in presidential politics, as Jimmy Carter's #2 speechwriter during his 1976 campaign and then as his head speechwriter in the White House. On Other Fronts, I've been living in China in recent years and have just published a book called China Airborne, on whether or not China is going to "make it" in the broadest sense.
I will start answering questions around 11am EDT Friday, Aug 24. Happy to talk about the campaign in general, debates in particular, Obama-through-history's eyes, China and its pluses and minuses, etc. Thanks for your interest. (Note to Reddit officials: here is a post on the Atlantic's site announcing this session too, for verification reasons.
I picked this book because of a few reasons –
· Have never read a travelogue. (Got to know about certain legendary one’s courtesy this – Mark Twain’s, John Steinbeck’s and Lewis & Clark)
· I am interested to visit all the 50 states, and learn and experience how USA is like. I thought while that may take sometime I might as well read about a few small towns and places (not just the touristy ones)
· Tom Hanks endorsement
And it did not disappoint!!
More here - https://musingsmith.blogspot.com/2019/02/our-towns-criscrossing-usa.html
On GPS: Fareed discusses the upcoming American midterm elections with a panel. Then, former UK Foreign Minister David Miliband on Brazil's President-elect, Germany's soon-to-be-former Chancellor, and the crisis in Yemen. GUESTS: Katrina vanden Heuvel, James Fallows, Anthony Scaramucci, Reid Hoffman
