Diane Ravitch

Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education

News, Awards and Recognition

Articles About Diane’s Work

Awards

  • Diane Ravitch recognized as one of the Most Inspiring Global Thought Leaders in 2021
  • Diane Ravitch recognized as a Global Education Leader for 2021
  • Diane Ravitch recognized as #2 Global Educational Professional Guru
  • Diane Ravitch was named the Spirit of America Speaker by the National Council for the Social Studies and addressed the 91st Annual NCSS Conference in December 2011. The award recognizes “a person that has followed their conscience and acted against current thinking in order to stand up for equity, freedom, and the American spirit of justice.”
  • Diane Ravitch received the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, created to honor those individuals whose careers in the academic or public area have been dedicated to the use of social science research to improve public policy in New York on June 2, 2011.
    • Douglas S. Massey, president of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, writes:
    • “Getting pilloried in public and attacked by people in power means you are living up to the Moynihan legacy! When it comes to education, Americans seem to be in the market for snake oil. Inequalities of wealth and income have risen steadily for three decades, racial segregation continues, class segregation has deepened, and middle and working class families are fracturing in the face of this economic onslaught, but rather than face these fundamental realities politicians keep pandering to the public and putting forth an endless stream of quick fixes that don’t cost any money and don’t require real change &mdash as if cosmetic changes in schools are somehow going to offset decades of disinvestment in the public sphere and rising concentrations of poverty. We are also living through the most anti-intellectual, anti-scientific times in American history &mdash and it’s not just social science that’s under attack. It’s also climate science, biological science, physical science &mdash really any body of reasoning and evidence that challenges people’s ideologies, prejudices, and selfish interests. The main theme to emerge from all the speeches the other night [at the Moynihan award ceremony] was how hard it is to make evidence a part of public debates and to influence public policies with logic and data. Anyway, I’m glad you got the Moynihan Award and hope in some small way it gives you greater legitimacy and visibility in your struggles in the public realm.”
  • Diane Ravitch received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Siena College, Loudonville, New York, May 15, 2011.
  • Diane Ravitch received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Teachers College in New York City on April 16, 2011.
  • Diane Ravitch received the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Distinguished Service Award in San Francisco, February 25, 2011.
  • Diane Ravitch received the American Education Award from the American Association of School Administrators in Denver, February 18, 2011.
  • Diane Ravitch received the Outstanding Friend of Education Award from the Horace Mann League, February 18, 2011.
  • “Waiting for Superman,” The New York Review of Books, November 2010
  • Diane spoke at the Save Our Schools March in Washington, D.C. on July 31, 2011. “We shall persist and we shall prevail!”
  • Bob Grover reviews Diane Ravitch’s book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” in the Emporia Gazette, September 14, 2012.
  • New York Times columnist and non-educator David Brooks attacked Diane in print on June 30, 2011.
  • Diane responded with a Letter to the Editor of the Times on July 5, 2011
  • Several education blogs responded to Brooks, including Living in Dialogue, Schools Matter, Taking Note, and Cedar’s Digest.
  • Diane Ravitch met with Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chaffee following her address to the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers on May 3, 2011.
  • The Education of Diane Ravitch By Alan Wolfe The New York Times Book Review. May 2010.
  • Diane Ravitch received the 2010 Charles W. Eliot Award from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, honoring the “individual who speaks with a clear voice on education issues for the benefit of all,” December 2010.
  • Diane Ravitch is ranked #1 in Rick Hess’ Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings for 2010, an effort to identify which “university-based academics are contributing most substantially to public debates over education and ed policy.”
  • Quick! What do Kanye West, Eliot Spitzer and Diane Ravitch have in common? All were named to Salon’s list of Best Celebrity Comebacks of 2010.
  • Diane Ravitch named one of the Atlantic magazine’s “Brave Thinkers of 2010, nineteen people risking their reputations, fortunes, and lives in pursuit of big ideas.” November 2010 issue.
  • Educationnews.org awards its Upton Sinclair Award for 2010 to Diane Ravitch, September 12, 2010.
  • Diane Ravitch received NEA “Friend of Education Award 2010” at its national convention in New Orleans, July 6, 2010. Watch the video of her speech and read the text.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System is the unanimous choice of the Executive Board of the American Association for Curriculum and Teaching for its annual Outstanding Book in Education Award.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System ranked #1 book of the past decade by voters in a poll conducted by Ednext magazine.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System to be published in Portuguese, Korean and Japanese.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System named one of the 100 Best Books of 2010 by the Kansas City Star.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System appeared on the New York Times’ Nonfiction Best Seller List in March and April, 2010.
  • The Death and Life of the Great American School System reached #12 on the New York Times’ Poli-Books Best Seller List for August, 2010.