From Booklist
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 Greenes research, he provides an interesting perspective to the ongoing debates about what ails public schools and how to improve them.
Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
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. Jay P. Greene has gathered the evidence to show that much of what people believe about education policy is little more than a series of myths.