How can we fix America's floundering public schools? Conventional wisdom says that schools and teachers 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? Jay Greene provocatively shows that much of what people believe about education policy is little more than a series of myths advanced by the special interest groups dominating public education.
Education Myths
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Researcher Greene debunks several purported myths at the heart of assumptions about efforts to reform troubled public schools. He begins with the conventional wisdom that increased spending on schools leads to improved education. Citing national statistics on school spending, Greene asserts that most arguments about inadequate spending are based on anecdotes not facts. He concludes that even if schools in poor urban areas were provided with more funds, there is no guarantee they would use the funds effectively. Other myths that he debunks: social problems such as poverty contribute to low academic performance, smaller class sizes produce improvements, certified teachers are more effective, teachers are underpaid, public schools’ performance has declined, private schools are more racially segregated than public schools. These myths are perpetuated by powerful interest groups, including teachers’ unions, asserts Greene. Whatever readers may think of Greene’s research, he provides an interesting perspective to the ongoing debates about what ails public schools and how to improve them. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
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. (Melnick, R Shep 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. (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. (Finn, Chester E. Jr. )
A must read for the many people who, frequently with good intentions, enter the policy arena without the relevant facts. (Hanushek, Eric A. )
Cleanly, deftly, succinctly, Jay Greene rips off the masks obscuring the realities of public education today. (Peterson, Paul )
Clears away the fog. Well-supported, powerful, and ultimately persuasive. A major contribution. (Rod Paige )
Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, challenges 18 popular assumptions in this accessible, data-driven polemic. His arguments stick close to the numbers compiled from numerous education studies, and, generally, Greene makes strong cases that would keep even education-policy gurus on their toes. (The Washington Post )
. . . the rigor, clarity, and energy with which the authors press their case make this book one the teachers unions do not want you to read. (Education Next )
Education Myths is a kind of 'freakonomics' for the education set. (Gallagher, Maggie )
. . . provocative. . . (Richard Lee Colvin Los Angeles Times )
The prolific Greene, who heads a new education research center at the University of Arkansas, is a key player on many of these issues. (Rotherham, Andrew J. New York Post )
Whatever readers may think of Greene's research, he provides an interesting perspective to the ongoing debates about what ails public schools and how to improve them. (Vanessa Bush Booklist )
In Education Myths, Jay P. Greene decisively refutes 18 myths that are routinely taken as facts by pundits and reporters. Mr. Greene's important book ensures that these potent education myths have been decisively refuted. (Martin Morse Wooster Washington Times )
[Greene] makes a strong case for challenging assumptions in an era of limited resources. (Mark Toner Teacher Magazine )
Greene has a history of casting a skeptical eye on special-interest groups' assertions, thoroughly conducting his own research, and drawing conclusions based in economic theory. (Lori Drummer School Reform News )
...an important education reform book (Jim Wooten Atlanta Journal Constitution )
[Jay P. Greene's] book provides data-driven research and analysis to refute each myth, as well as a substantial bibliography to encourage further fact finding. We are reminded to let the facts inform us, even though powerful special interest groups seek to maintain the mythology and defy logic and scientific basis. (Education Reporter )
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. (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. (Finn, Chester E. Jr. )
A must read for the many people who, frequently with good intentions, enter the policy arena without the relevant facts. (Hanushek, Eric A. )
Cleanly, deftly, succinctly, Jay Greene rips off the masks obscuring the realities of public education today. (Peterson, Paul )
Clears away the fog. Well-supported, powerful, and ultimately persuasive. A major contribution. (Rod Paige )
Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, challenges 18 popular assumptions in this accessible, data-driven polemic. His arguments stick close to the numbers compiled from numerous education studies, and, generally, Greene makes strong cases that would keep even education-policy gurus on their toes. (The Washington Post )
. . . the rigor, clarity, and energy with which the authors press their case make this book one the teachers unions do not want you to read. (Education Next )
Education Myths is a kind of 'freakonomics' for the education set. (Gallagher, Maggie )
. . . provocative. . . (Richard Lee Colvin Los Angeles Times )
The prolific Greene, who heads a new education research center at the University of Arkansas, is a key player on many of these issues. (Rotherham, Andrew J. New York Post )
Whatever readers may think of Greene's research, he provides an interesting perspective to the ongoing debates about what ails public schools and how to improve them. (Vanessa Bush Booklist )
In Education Myths, Jay P. Greene decisively refutes 18 myths that are routinely taken as facts by pundits and reporters. Mr. Greene's important book ensures that these potent education myths have been decisively refuted. (Martin Morse Wooster Washington Times )
[Greene] makes a strong case for challenging assumptions in an era of limited resources. (Mark Toner Teacher Magazine )
Greene has a history of casting a skeptical eye on special-interest groups' assertions, thoroughly conducting his own research, and drawing conclusions based in economic theory. (Lori Drummer School Reform News )
...an important education reform book (Jim Wooten Atlanta Journal Constitution )
[Jay P. Greene's] book provides data-driven research and analysis to refute each myth, as well as a substantial bibliography to encourage further fact finding. We are reminded to let the facts inform us, even though powerful special interest groups seek to maintain the mythology and defy logic and scientific basis. (Education Reporter )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
57 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Freakonomics for Education,
By
This review is from: Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So (Hardcover)
Public school spending per pupil, adjusting for inflation, has soared in recent decades, while student performance has stagnated. This central and uncomfortable fact is the essence of the crisis in American public education today- a collapse in the productivity of spending.
Defenders of the status-quo, when forced to address this problem at all, trot out a series of comfortable myths. Greene's book methodically demolishes each of them, while also providing a roadmap to genuine improvement. An important book for anyone wishing to come to grips with the real and phantom challenges facing public education today.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Discussion of Why the Conventional Wisdom on Education is Wrong,
By
This review is from: Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So (Hardcover)
"Education Myths" is one of those "love it or hate it" books. Liberals who have bought into these myths will despise the "reality checks" Greene gives while conservatives will applaud his meticulous debunking of them. Are schools underfunded? Are teachers underpaid? Do smaller class sizes raise student achievement? Does teacher credentialing result in better performance? Do vouchers work? Greene reviews the research on these and other "hot button" issues to demonstrate that the conventional wisdom is very often wrong.
69 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great place to begin rethinking public education,
By Cheryl L. Thomas (Columbia, Mo United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools--And Why It Isn't So (Hardcover)
If ever an institution needed input from someone working outside the standard paradigm, public education is it. To many people, it is obvious the system is not working well, yet suggestions from anyone who is not part of the system are automatically dismissed. Jay Greene is an established and well-respected researcher of education issues, whose only agenda is to elevate the quality of public and professional debate about education. This book addresses a basic problem facing those who wish to improve our schools: many assumptions about education have never been tested in a scientific manner, and many have no basis in fact. Often these untested assumptions form the rationale for expensive programs that consume much time and money with little result. In some cases, blind acceptance by the public of untrue "facts" prevents consideration of novel approaches. Greene has analyzed the research related to several crucial issues and pointed out that while some of it is worth considering, much of it is of little or no value. This book suggests a fresh framework for inquiry into the problems that plague our schools and frustrate everyone who wishes to see good education available for all children.
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