First to Worst

Aired  FEBRUARY 5th

 

"They’re like Calcutta," a former high ranking education official says of public schools in California, the subject of the new Merrow Report documentary FIRST TO WORST. Hosted by John Merrow, the program chronicles the rise and fall of California's public school system, the largest in the nation and home to one of every eight American students.

 

In the 1950's and 60's, California's schools were the national model. "There was a commitment to excellence," author Peter Schrag says in the film. "California was the land of new opportunity; there was wonderful historical tradition in that." Today, California's schools rank near the bottom. Since tying with Mississippi and Guam in the mid 1990's, state test scores have barely nudged upward. "We basically turned our back on schools," John Mockler, an education policy expert, relates in the film.