Review
"Excellent argument by Bryan Caplan, but missed something central: convexity of trial-and-error & heuristic learning."---Nassim Nicholas Taleb,
"One of Tyler Cowen's Best Non-Fiction Books of 2018"
"Cogently argued."---Megan McArdle, Washington Post
"Bryan Caplan is perhaps the most natural ‘social science book writer’ I have met, besides myself of course. Not only does he want people to agree with him, he insists that they agree with him for the right reasons."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
"Bryan Caplan raises an important question in [his] controversial new book, The Case Against Education. How much of the benefits of a degree comes from the skills you acquire in studying for it? And how much from the piece of paper at the end – what your degree certificate signals to employers about the skills and attributes you might have had long before you filled in a unviersity application form?"---Sonia Sodha, The Guardian
"You probably won’t agree with everything he says . . . but his broadside is worth considering carefully given that the U.S. spends $1 trillion or so a year on education at all levels, more than the budget for defense."---Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek
"His words might be hard to digest. But with dismal school performance and achievement year after year, it’s worth challenging the assumptions we make about the education systems that now envelop childhood."---Kaitlyn Buss, Detroit News
"Like most fascinating authors, Caplan, too, has scrumptious contradictions. . . . Whatever the truth is, this book is recommended to parents, high school teachers, and college professors for gaining valuable insights into the dynamics of ‘useless’ education."---L. Ali Khan, NY Journal of Books
"Caplan delivers a tightly knit, compelling indictment of the vastly inflated, scandalously over-priced and often socially deleterious Ponzi scheme that American higher education has become."---Aram Bakshian Jr., Washington Times
"[Caplan] is also frequently infuriating. But when he is right, he is very right. The Case Against Education, a book 10 years in the making, is a case of Caplan being right."---Charles Fain Lehman, Washington Free Beacon
Review
"Few would disagree that our education system needs reform. While most call for more―more government subsidies, more time in school, more students attending college―Caplan provocatively argues for less. The Case against Education urges a radical rethinking about why we've been unsuccessful to date―and why more of the same won't work."―Vicki Alger, Independent Institute
"Bryan Caplan has written what is sure to be one of the most intriguing and provocative books on education published this year. His boldly contrarian conclusion―that much schooling and public support for education is astonishingly wasteful, if not counterproductive―is compelling enough that it should be cause for serious reflection on the part of parents, students, educators, advocates, and policymakers."―Frederick Hess, American Enterprise Institute
"You doubtless asked many times in school, ‘When am I going to use this?' Bryan Caplan asks the same question, about everything taught prekindergarten through graduate school, and has a disturbing answer: almost never. Indeed, we'd be better off with a lot less education. It's heresy that must be heard."―Neal McCluskey, Cato Institute
"The Case against Education is a riveting book. Bryan Caplan, the foremost whistle-blower in the academy, argues persuasively that learning about completely arbitrary subjects is attractive to employers because it signals students' intelligence, work ethic, desire to please, and conformity―even when such learning conveys no cognitive advantage or increase in human capital."―Stephen J. Ceci, Cornell University
"This book is hugely important. The Case against Education is the work of an idiosyncratic genius."―Lant Pritchett, author of The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain't Learning
"Caplan deals provocatively and even courageously with an important topic. Readers will be disturbed by his conclusions, maybe even angry. But I doubt they will ignore them."―Richard Vedder, author of Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much
From the Back Cover
"Few would disagree that our education system needs reform. While most call for more--more government subsidies, more time in school, more students attending college--Caplan provocatively argues for less. The Case against Education urges a radical rethinking about why we've been unsuccessful to date--and why more of the same won't work."--Vicki Alger, Independent Institute
"Bryan Caplan has written what is sure to be one of the most intriguing and provocative books on education published this year. His boldly contrarian conclusion--that much schooling and public support for education is astonishingly wasteful, if not counterproductive--is compelling enough that it should be cause for serious reflection on the part of parents, students, educators, advocates, and policymakers."--Frederick Hess, American Enterprise Institute
"You doubtless asked many times in school, 'When am I going to use this?' Bryan Caplan asks the same question, about everything taught prekindergarten through graduate school, and has a disturbing answer: almost never. Indeed, we'd be better off with a lot less education. It's heresy that must be heard."--Neal McCluskey, Cato Institute
"The Case against Education is a riveting book. Bryan Caplan, the foremost whistle-blower in the academy, argues persuasively that learning about completely arbitrary subjects is attractive to employers because it signals students' intelligence, work ethic, desire to please, and conformity--even when such learning conveys no cognitive advantage or increase in human capital."--Stephen J. Ceci, Cornell University
"This book is hugely important. The Case against Education is the work of an idiosyncratic genius."--Lant Pritchett, author of The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain't Learning
"Caplan deals provocatively and even courageously with an important topic. Readers will be disturbed by his conclusions, maybe even angry. But I doubt they will ignore them."--Richard Vedder, author of Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much
About the Author
Bryan Caplan is professor of economics at George Mason University and a blogger at EconLog. He is the author of Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun than You Think and The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies (Princeton). He lives in Oakton, Virginia.
