Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So: Jay P. Greene: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Education Myths

What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So

Education Myths

What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So

Description

How can we fix America's floundering public schools? The conventional wisdom says that schools need a lot more money, that poor and immigrant children can't do as well as most American kids, that high-stakes tests just produce teaching to the test, and that vouchers do little to help students while undermining our democracy. But what if the conventional wisdom is wrong?

In Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools-And Why It Isn't So, Jay Greene and the researchers at the Manhattan Institute have gathered the evidence to show that much of what people believe about education policy is little more than a series of myths.

Greene takes on the conventional wisdom and closely examines eighteen myths advanced by the special interest groups dominating public education. In addition to the money myth, the class size myth, and the teacher pay myth, Greene debunks the special education myth (special ed programs burden public schools), the certification myth (certified or more experience teachers are more effective in the classroom), the graduation myth (nearly all students graduate from high school), the draining myth (choice harms public schools), the segregation myth (private schools are more racially segregated), and several more.

Greene's reasoned and accessible approach identifies the myth and then refutes it with relevant and reliable facts and figures-including the education establishment's own research. He believes our schools can be fixed and concludes the book with important recommendations that will achieve measurable and affordable success. This is essential reading for all those interested in quality public education and a wake-up call for undemanding taxpayers.

Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Introduction
Part 3 Part I: Resources
Chapter 4 The Money Myth-"Schools perform poorly because they need more money."
Chapter 5 The Special Ed Myth-"Special education programs burden public schools, hindering their academic performance."
Chapter 6 The Myth of Helplessness-"Social problems like poverty cause students to fail; schools are helpless to prevent it."
Chapter 7 The Class Size Myth-"Schools should reduce class sizes; small classes would produce big improvements."
Chapter 8 The Certification Myth-"Certified or more experienced teachers are substantially more effective."
Chapter 9 The Teacher Pay Myth-"Teachers are badly underpaid."
Part 10 Part II: Outcomes
Chapter 11 The Myth of Decline-"Schools are performing much worse than they used to."
Chapter 12 The Graduation Myth-"Nearly all students graduate from high school."
Chapter 13 The College Access Myth-"Nonacademic barriers prevent a lot of minority students from attending college."
Part 14 Part III: Accountability
Chapter 15 The High Stakes Myth-"The results of high-stakes tests are not credible because they're distorted by cheating and teaching to the test.
Chapter 16 The Push-Out Myth-"Exit exams cause more students to drop out of high school."
Chapter 17 The Accountability Burden Myth-"Accountability systems impose large financial burdens on schools."
Part 18 Part IV: Choice
Chapter 19 The Inconclusive Research Myth-"The evidence on the effectiveness of vouchers is mixed and inconclusive."
Chapter 20 The Exeter Myth-"Private schools have higher test scores because they have more money and recruit high-performing students while expelling low-performing students."
Chapter 21 The Draining Myth-"School choice harms public schools."
Chapter 22 The Disabled Need Not Apply Myth-"Private schools won't serve disabled students."
Chapter 23 The Democratic Values Myth-"Private schools are less effective at promoting tolerance and civic participation."
Chapter 24 The Segregation Myth-"Private schools are more racially segregated than public schools."
Part 25 Conclusion
Part 26 Afterword

Product details

Published	Aug 09 2006
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	280
ISBN	9780742549784
Imprint	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions	9 x 8 inches
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

In Education Myths, Jay Greene pulls off an impressive feat: an examination of complicated education research that is both engaging and useful to the general reader. In doing so, he convincingly disproves 18 common beliefs about public education. It is a serious piece of applied policy research. Perhaps Greene's greatest achievement is to explain why we should be deeply disturbed at the performance of our public schools, but not despair over the prospect of improving them.

R Shep Melnick, Thomas P. O'Neil, Jr. professor of American Politics, Boston College, Claremont Review of Books
In recent years, few researchers [like Jay Greene] have consistently produced as much influential, and some would say heretical, research on topics roiling education.

Education Week
With this clearly and powerfully written book, reformers everywhere will have the evidence and arguments they need to push aside the myths standing in front of the school house door.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
This timely, plain-spoken, myth-demolishing book unmasks the self-interest, naiveté and well-intended gullibility that lead Americans to embrace eighteen seductive assumptions about education that turn out to be false-and that block the promising reforms that our schools and children urgently need.

Chester E. Finn Jr., president, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
A must read for the many people who, frequently with good intentions, enter the policy arena without the relevant facts.

Eric A. Hanushek, Stanford University, author of "Endangering Prosperity: A Global View of the American School."
Cleanly, deftly, succinctly, Jay Greene rips off the masks obscuring the realities of public education today.

Paul Peterson, Director, Program on Education Policy and Governance, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University