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Pygmalion in the Classroom

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First published in 1968, updated in 1992, Pygmalion In The Classroom: Teacher Expectation And Pupils' Intellectual Development is the collaborative effort of Robert Rosentha and Lenore Jacobson to take a close look at the "Pygmalion phenomenon", that is, the self-fulfilling prophecy in teachers' expectations of their students. Closely looking at how prejudices can shape a child's own self-esteem and learning environment, Pygmalion In The Classroom is a "must-read" for school administrators, classroom teachers, home schoolers, and anyone else who is keenly interested in the education of future generations.

While on the surface Pygmalion appears to be a solid experiment, what lies beneath is a train wreck of creative data and stretched conclusions. I took a class which spent several weeks examining the data and methods used by Rosenthal and Jacobson, and the lengths they went to in order bolster their conclusion are laughable. Their randomization process was never clear, mortality was a very serious issue, and the TOGA test was administered to students below the minimum recommended age requirement (if you look at the data, many kids score zero on the test, indicating they didn't even do it). They gather much of their reported gains from "wonder kids" who gain ~70 IQ points during the duration of the experiment, which is absolutely ludicrous. I could go on and on, but hopefully you will do more than just take the book at face value.