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英國(guó)學(xué)校改革優(yōu)勝劣汰原版雙語(yǔ)GRE閱讀
Britain Schools reform——Class acts
英國(guó)學(xué)校改革：優(yōu)秀法案
England’s schools are radically different. Now makethem better
英格蘭各個(gè)學(xué)校相比其他地方極為不同，現(xiàn)在是是時(shí)候改善這些學(xué)校了
AT the King Solomon Academy in London, children from the nearby tower blocks are settlinginto a new school year. Girls in hijabs mingle with Afro-Caribbean boys in over-sized newblazers. The proportion of pupils receiving free school meals because their parents are poor isthree times the national average. Yet the academy, which is run by ARK, a charity, is rankedas “outstanding” by the schools inspector and has been lavishly praised by Anthony Seldon,headmaster of a leading private school.
在位于英國(guó)倫敦的索羅門(mén)國(guó)王學(xué)院里，來(lái)自附近高層貧民樓的學(xué)生們正迎來(lái)他們新的學(xué)年。學(xué)校里學(xué)生人種混雜：既有戴著頭巾的穆斯林女學(xué)生，又有穿著肥大的新校服的加勒比黑人男學(xué)生。由于家境貧寒，一部分小學(xué)生可享受免費(fèi)的校餐。這部分學(xué)生在全校中的比例現(xiàn)已達(dá)英國(guó)平均比例的三倍之多。然而，對(duì)于這所由某名為“ARK”的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)所運(yùn)營(yíng)的學(xué)院，督學(xué)人員表示“表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異”，同時(shí)，某著名私學(xué)校長(zhǎng)安東尼·塞爾頓(AnthonySeldon)也對(duì)其大加贊譽(yù)。
Max Haimendorf, its young head, has adopted many ideas from American charter schools. Hismission is to get as many children as possible to top universities. “It’s what changes lives,” hesays. Notice-boards are festooned with information introducing children from primary levelupwards to that aspiration.
擔(dān)任該學(xué)院校長(zhǎng)一職的Max Haimendorf十分年輕。他從美國(guó)特許學(xué)校中借鑒了許多想法。其辦校宗旨是讓盡可能多的學(xué)生能進(jìn)入頂尖高等學(xué)府。“這將改變命運(yùn)”，他表示。學(xué)校的布告欄上貼滿(mǎn)了宣傳其學(xué)生從小學(xué)一路考入名牌大學(xué)的各種信息。
Ambitious outfits like this delight Michael Gove, the education secretary. He has expanded theacademies programme which began under Labour, and which aims to give schools more controlover their management and curriculum (though not their admissions policies) as well asdiscretion to vary teachers’ pay. Over half of state secondary schools are now academies. Thecoalition is also pushing free schools, created by parents and other groups dissatisfied withthe local offerings. So far 79 free schools have opened, with another 100 in the pipeline.
對(duì)于類(lèi)似索羅門(mén)國(guó)王學(xué)院這樣的學(xué)校，英國(guó)教育部部長(zhǎng)邁克爾·戈夫(Michael Gove)表示十分歡迎。原本由英國(guó)工黨發(fā)起的“學(xué)院計(jì)劃”(academies programme)經(jīng)其手得到拓展。該計(jì)劃旨在使校方就學(xué)校管理、課程安排、教師工資方面(盡管招生政策不包含在內(nèi))有更多的自主權(quán)。如今，英國(guó)國(guó)立中學(xué)中有一半以上已是學(xué)院類(lèi)學(xué)校。由家長(zhǎng)等不滿(mǎn)于地方政府補(bǔ)貼的團(tuán)體也自發(fā)組成聯(lián)盟，以推進(jìn)此類(lèi)公益學(xué)校。至今為止，已有79所義學(xué)向?qū)W生開(kāi)放。同時(shí)，另有100所正處于醞釀之中。
That Britain’s schools need to be transformed is clear. A new OECD report, Education at aGlance, notes that British pupils slipped down the international league tables in the past decadedespite a big increase in spending, which doubled in real terms under the last Labourgovernment. Asian and former communist countries in eastern Europe are leaving them behind.
英國(guó)學(xué)校改革的必要性已不言而喻。據(jù)經(jīng)合組織(OECD)一項(xiàng)名為“教育概覽”(Education at a Glance)的最新報(bào)告顯示，盡管英國(guó)政府的教育支出激增，相比工黨執(zhí)政期最后一任內(nèi)閣時(shí)的實(shí)際額度翻了一番，但其小學(xué)生平均成績(jī)的國(guó)際排名在過(guò)去10年間有所下滑。而亞洲各國(guó)和東歐的部分原共產(chǎn)主義國(guó)家的表現(xiàn)，則不斷趕超英國(guó)。
Yet the government, so bold in many ways, has not dared to claim that its reforms will pushthe nation’s pupils up the rankings. England’s schools are different, but not yet demonstrablybetter (Scotland and Wales oversee their own schools, though not with much distinction).And as the schools revolution rolls on, new problems are popping up.
而即使各方面都行事大膽的英國(guó)政府，也不敢宣稱(chēng)其改革將升高本國(guó)小學(xué)生成績(jī)的國(guó)際排名。英格蘭的學(xué)校相對(duì)比較不同，但也無(wú)法證明其表現(xiàn)較好(而蘇格蘭和威爾士則擁有學(xué)校監(jiān)督的自主權(quán)，盡管差別不大)。隨著學(xué)校改革的推進(jìn)，新的問(wèn)題也將不斷浮現(xiàn)。
The spread of more autonomous schools has created a gap in accountability, which has beenfilled in a piecemeal way. Getting sluggish local authorities out of running schools is one thing.Ensuring effective intervention when things go wrong in academies or free schools is another.At the moment this role is left to the Department for Education—a state of affairs described byone critic as “Napoleonic” (it is also odd, given the coalition’s enthusiasm for pruning Whitehallbureaucracy).
隨著各學(xué)校自主權(quán)的增強(qiáng)，問(wèn)責(zé)制缺口問(wèn)題已然出現(xiàn)。對(duì)此，解決方法各式各樣。其一是使學(xué)校脫離地方政府的保守經(jīng)營(yíng)。其二是確保學(xué)院或義校出現(xiàn)問(wèn)題時(shí)政府的有效介入。目前，該義務(wù)由英國(guó)教育部承擔(dān)。對(duì)于該現(xiàn)狀，某評(píng)論家稱(chēng)之為“拿破侖式管理”(同時(shí)，由于私人團(tuán)體強(qiáng)烈要求精簡(jiǎn)英國(guó)政府，這一現(xiàn)狀也比較反常)。
The education secretary’s ability to send strong reformist signals, so useful in encouraging thegrowth of academies, can cause a mess. A row over the sudden downward revision of EnglishGSCE grades suggest that the qualifications regulator responded to pressure to make examstougher—a favourite theme of Mr Gove—without giving due warning of the shift in gradeboundaries or how to address them.
盡管教育部部長(zhǎng)多次有力地暗示將進(jìn)行教育改革，并有效地刺激了學(xué)院式學(xué)校的開(kāi)辦，但最終可能引起混亂。就近期英國(guó)普通初級(jí)中學(xué)畢業(yè)文憑評(píng)級(jí)(GSCE)向下修正一事?tīng)?zhēng)論迭起，這說(shuō)明英國(guó)的資格考試審查機(jī)構(gòu)屈于壓力而增加考試難度(這迎合了戈夫部長(zhǎng)的主題)，但卻沒(méi)有酒評(píng)級(jí)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)改變和應(yīng)對(duì)方法作出相應(yīng)的提醒。
Another conundrum is what to do if an academy or free school under-performs (in America,charter schools close every year). Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of OFSTED, the schoolsinspectorate, hankers for powers to inspect academy chains as well as the local authoritieswho run the country’s remaining (and frankly neglected) comprehensive schools. OFSTED onlyhas the right to inspect individual schools: a hangover from the previous system. Oneremedy might lie in the creation of powerful regional school commissioners, who could demandchanges, send in improvement teams when things go awry and generally strive to outdo oneanother. A flaw in both Labour and Conservative school-reform efforts is that there is littledrive for improvements to spread round the country. A keener sense of regional responsibilitymight help.
另一個(gè)問(wèn)題是，對(duì)于表現(xiàn)不佳的學(xué)院或義校該如何處理(美國(guó)每年都有倒閉的特許學(xué)校)。英國(guó)教育標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局(OFSTED)負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)督學(xué)校，其局長(zhǎng)麥克·威爾蕭爵士(Sir Michael Wilshaw) 則希望獲得更大的權(quán)力，以監(jiān)督各個(gè)學(xué)院以及經(jīng)營(yíng)英國(guó)其他(說(shuō)白了就是被忽略的)綜合學(xué)校。而目前，英國(guó)教育標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局的權(quán)力僅限于監(jiān)督個(gè)別學(xué)校，這是先前的教育體系所遺留下的。對(duì)此，設(shè)立權(quán)限較大的地方教育專(zhuān)員可能是一個(gè)解決辦法。該專(zhuān)業(yè)可以要求教育改革，發(fā)生問(wèn)題時(shí)派遣補(bǔ)救小組，總體上又能相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。英國(guó)工黨和保守黨在教育改革上都存在一個(gè)問(wèn)題，那就是缺乏將改革擴(kuò)散至全國(guó)的動(dòng)機(jī)。而提高地區(qū)政府責(zé)任意識(shí)可能會(huì)有所改善。
Ultimately, though, no amount of structural change, interventions or inspections counts for asmuch as good teaching. Lord Adonis, a former Labour minister who set up the academiesprogramme, says it is “simply absurd” that top universities have no stake in teacher-training, ajob left too long, he says, to “under-par educational sociologists”. The best schools could begiven more autonomy and incentives to help train teachers, ensuring that newcomers learnfrom the best of their profession, not the middling performers. Rewards need sharpening, justas poor performers should be edged out more quickly. The coalition, which has supported“golden hellos” for some graduates training as teachers, could do more to entice top mathsand science performers. (It might not harm to recruit a few teachers from the Asian Tigereconomies, too, if only to impress parents with the amount of homework they would set.)
然后最終，無(wú)論進(jìn)行多少結(jié)構(gòu)性改革、加大多少政府介入和審查，都不如改善教育質(zhì)量來(lái)得有效。學(xué)院計(jì)劃的發(fā)起人，前工黨大臣阿多尼斯男爵(Lord Adonis)表示，教師培訓(xùn)對(duì)于頂尖高等學(xué)府無(wú)關(guān)緊要，這“簡(jiǎn)直荒謬”。他還稱(chēng)，教師培訓(xùn)這一工作被擱置得太久，“教育社會(huì)學(xué)家們都失望了”。那些優(yōu)異的學(xué)?？梢垣@得更多自主權(quán)，同時(shí)在教師培訓(xùn)上有更強(qiáng)的動(dòng)機(jī)。這樣，可以確保教授學(xué)生的是那些頂尖的師資，而非中庸的講師。對(duì)于那些表現(xiàn)不佳者，需要立刻予以取代。同時(shí)，留任者的報(bào)酬也宜有所提高。而那些私人團(tuán)體向來(lái)支持對(duì)畢業(yè)后接受培訓(xùn)的準(zhǔn)教師們提供優(yōu)厚待遇，這些團(tuán)體在招攬優(yōu)秀的數(shù)學(xué)、理科教師方面將更勝一籌。(若只是為了給家長(zhǎng)們留下海量作業(yè)的印象，雇傭一些來(lái)自“亞洲四小龍”的教師也無(wú)傷大雅。)
England’s reforms are sound—just not sufficient by themselves to transform outcomes. Thefocus should now be on acquiring as many brilliant teachers as possible, as fast as possible.Pursuing that aim, rather than judging proGREss by the numbers of freshly-hatched schools, isthe vital next step towards better education.
英格蘭的教育改革本身沒(méi)錯(cuò)，只是通過(guò)自身不足以改變結(jié)果。而現(xiàn)在，改革的焦點(diǎn)應(yīng)該集中在盡可能多而快地招攬優(yōu)秀教師。相比以新辦學(xué)校數(shù)來(lái)衡量成果，師資力量才是今后改善教育的關(guān)鍵一步。