Schools for Sale: Why Free Market Policies Won't Improve America's Schools, and What Will (Critical Issues in Educational Leadership) [Paperback]

Ernest R. House (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0807737372 | ISBN-13: 978-0807737378

In Schools for Sale, author Ernest House debunks the myth that economic productivity should shape educational policy and practice. House conclusively illustrates that the attempts by the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations to reshape the school to make "productive workers" ignore how schools work and how students learn, and in the end are doomed to failure. Politically driven proposals for vouchers and privatization and increased calls for accountability and standards gain headlines and capture the attention of the public, but they routinely ignore the need to involve teachers and schools in the debate over the future of our schools. Based on his years of work as a professor of educational policy analysis, House develops an appraisal framework that evaluates reforms and enables readers to test the relative merits and viability of popular reform ideas. This book provides a signal service to politicians, policy makers, and the general public interested in creating a sustainable future for our nation's students and schools.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ernest R. House is Professor of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Teachers College Press (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807737372
• ISBN-13: 978-0807737378
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,476,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You need to know how good this book is!, April 29, 2006

By 

B. Wood (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schools for Sale: Why Free Market Policies Won't Improve America's Schools, and What Will (Critical Issues in Educational Leadership) (Paperback)

First, the caveat: To get your money's worth out of this book, you will need to have a reasonable understanding of Economics. If you are comfortable working with terms such as human capital, opportunity cost and GDP per capita, then this is a book that could really enhance your understanding of research based school improvement.

The book is divided into two broad sections: Big Policy and Little Policy. In the first section, the author provides a timeline of reforms from Reagan to Clinton, broadly covering the period 1980 to 1998. He also looks at the relationship between the education sector and the government during that period.

The second part of the book looks at how to improve productivity in schools (and also what that really means!) and how the policy directive from state and federal politicians can help to make that happen.

Although the book was published in 1998, those seeking to understand more about the No Child Left Behind Act will find much of value here. For example, on page 31 the author laments "Who would take seriously a plan to save the starving masses of Africa by collecting data?" There is also a great deal of discussion about the pros and cons of standardized testing. I suspect that other readers may be as surprised as I was to find out when it was that standardized testing came to the fore....

An entertaining read that is sure to leave you thinking - I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Schools for Sale Book, September 24, 2011

By 

Kristi Floyd "krisfloyd_71" (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Schools for Sale: Why Free Market Policies Won't Improve America's Schools, and What Will (Critical Issues in Educational Leadership) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book that my class had to purchase. It focused on school budgets and it gave scenarios on how to handle school budget situations. Good book for school administrators.