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Critical Analysis of Arthur Levine's A Race to the Bottom

A Race to the Bottom is a highly informative article detailing a study conducted by Arthur Levine. It relates to the quality of educational administration programs across various college and university campuses. This analysis will discuss the core concepts, logic, contexts, arguments and justifications, major points, and state my personal evaluation of the article.

Core Concepts

The major concepts of this article relate to the ineffectiveness of school leadership programs. Arthur Levine found that a majority of the programs were inadequate. He noted four areas in which these programs lacked efficiency. These areas of concern were the rise in off-campus low quality programs, weak research-intensive universities that are working towards awarding doctoral degrees in administration, competition for students is causing lowered program quality and admission criteria, and the fact that state and local school districts are adding to the problem by salary incentives for advanced degrees. Levine noted several major issues that affect school administration programs. First, he revealed that many people who had finished these programs agreed that the curriculum was irrelevant; they said that it did prepare them to deal with "on-the-job issues." Second, the issues of low admission and graduation standards were addressed. The study illustrated how many schools lower their standards to increase admission and create tuition "cash cows." Third, he discussed the issue of these schools having weak faculties. Many colleges and universities employed part-time and adjunct professors. In many cases, senior faculty members refused to drive to far away cities to teach night courses causing the schools to hire ill-experienced instructors. Also, it was noted that many professors were not familiar with the field and did not stay informed of current research and practice. Fourth, inadequate clinical instruction was a area of concern. Many alumni complained about too much theory and a lack of practice. Many students completed their internship and practicum in their current assignment and felt that they did not receive adequate clinical/field based instruction. Fifth, Levine found that there were too many inappropriate degrees and certificates in the school administration program. The degrees are ambiguously defined and vary across campuses and even within the same universities. Lastly, poor research is another weak part of education programs. Many programs lack rigorous scholarship and do not conduct action research.

Logic

This article used formal logic because it contained factual information that can be linked back to the study. Arthur Levine reviewed the data and developed this article around what was observed when visiting the schools, dialoging with professionals, and reviewing the literature related to this topic.

Context

The article was written to inform educational leaders about the issues regarding educational administration/leadership programs. Many people can benefit from the topics discussed and addressed. Administration graduate candidates learn about the effectiveness of these programs at various schools. Mainly, this article is most useful to colleges and universities. Program directors and coordinators can use these findings in reforming their programs to increase effectiveness.

Arguments and Justifications

The argument Levine presented is a rational one and deserves mainstream attention and focus. Generally an argument has two or more sides. However, this particular issue addresses the lack of quality of educational administration