Hard Lessons: Public Schools and Privatization (Twentieth Century Fund Report) [Paperback]

Carol Asher (Author), Carol Ascher (Author), Norm Fruchter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Twentieth Century Fund Report | Publication Date: October 1996

This book, the second in the Twentieth Century Fund's series of studies on the privatization of public services, finds that current arguments for privatizing schools are based on wishful thinking. After examining what the actual experience has been with privatization around the country, Hard Lessons concludes that the promise of saving money and improving educational quality through privatization is, at minimum, being oversold. While this report is likely to be disputed by those who have a strong attachment to the notion that privatizing always improves output--and by those with a financial stake in the for-profit school " industry" --it will be an important part of the ongoing debate. The report, which focuses on big city schools, argues that while the magic wand of privatization must be abandoned, the efforts to solve the problems facing our nation's urban schools must continue; there are hard questions to be asked, new solutions to be tried, and the case must continually be made for new resources for our public schools, even in today's political climate.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Twentieth Century Fund Press

About the Author

Carol Ascher is senior research associate with New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy. Norm Fruchter is codirector of the Institute of Education and Social Policy. Robert Berne is dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Century Foundation Press (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870783998
• ISBN-13: 978-0870783999
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,461,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Education > Policy
  • #57 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Education > Education Theory > Administration

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new here, but..., October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hard Lessons: Public Schools and Privatization (Twentieth Century Fund Report) (Paperback)

One would have thought that after Chubb and Moe's book we would find new insight here; but these writers are not only not economists, but are generally 'conservative' in the sense that they simply won't admit that impoverished kids are desperate for better schools. This book is somewhat closed-minded, but there are valuable lessons to be learned as well. Those who seek profit in education are the vultures who await perched upon the current debate. But things are indeed desperate, and these troublingly complacent academics are not helping things, in my opinion. Worth a read, to be sure...

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning politics, profit, and privatization: An easy lesson, January 10, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (State College PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Lessons: Public Schools and Privatization (Twentieth Century Fund Report) (Paperback)

This text offers valuable information in which one can become a more informed citizen on the political rhetoric over educational reform. The text is not unproblematic however. The small section on "school as a civic sphere" needed to be expanded upon as well as the way in which all of the reforms focused upon math and reading test scores. Overall, these areas remain minor in comparison the benefits of this text.