The Dangers of Conformity in Public Education

Abstract

There is a wide consensus that the U.S. K-12 public education system is in need of fundamental reform. Reformers face two primary barriers to reform; knowledge and incentive problems. Knowledge problems represent the epistemic difficulties inherent in designing a top-down educational system meant to service the educational needs of diverse youth in a rapidly changing economy. The second is the problem of creating an education system that isn’t susceptible to the influence of special interest groups in a contemporary political democracy. We argue that the current public education system is failing precisely because it does not account for these knowledge and incentive problems in its structural design, leading to an educational system that is underperforming, uniform, and susceptible to special interest group pressures. All three outcomes are detrimental to a free society. Decentralized education is necessary for a robust educational system that can deliver quality, adaptable education that isn’t susceptible to special interest group politics.