The practice of sorting students by the statistical device known as the "bell curve" is attacked here by two education specialists who identify a host of problems associated with the "Bell-Curve Syndrome's growing list of symptoms." Wallace was formerly superintendent of the Vance County School District in North Carolina, where her efforts to establish a more fluid and individualized system were thwarted. With education reporter Graves, she calls for change, citing school districts that are abandoning tracking, eliminating grade levels and attempting alternatives without lowering standards. Vehement about the "demeaning forces" of bell-curve ratings, Wallace describes her successes in implementing a non-traditional system of instruction: it emphasized teaching children according to their individual abilities and pleased both students and their teachers, but it threatened the power of a politically cautious school board. Case studies are included in this inspiring report on school reform.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
For decades, the bell curve has ruled the U.S. educational system through the assumption that a majority of children are average and thus gearing group instruction toward the average level. This bell curve, the authors claim, does not recognize that human achievement is more a function of will and effort than intelligence. While many books on the bell curve are "dry"?most notably Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray's The Bell Curve (Free Pr., 1994), which the authors refute?Poisoned Apple presents an enthralling expose of the bell curve system and one educator's decision to extinguish its use in the Vance County, North Carolina school district. (Wallace is the former superintendent of the Vance County School District; Graves is an education reporter.) Interspersed throughout the narrative are basic discussions of philosophies regarding the use of the bell curve vs. alternative policies of flexibility. Even though the events in Vance County are not storybook perfect, the spark that was ignited there still glows. This is essential reading on an often controversial subject.?A.R. Huggins, Univ. of Memphis Libs.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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