Education Myths: What Special Interest Groups Want You to Know About Our Schools and Why it Isn't So

Citing reams of empirical evidence, Jay Greene discusses his new book, Education Myths, and how “much of what policy makers and parents believe today about education is as mythological as anything Homer or Aesop, even if it isn’t nearly as poetic.”   Amiss assumption such as  . . . 

• American schools do badly because of too little money. 
• Smaller classes lead to kids learning more.
• Exit exams cause students to drop out of school.
• Special education programs unduly burden schools financially.
• School choice hurts public schools.
• Nonacademic barriers prevent many minority students from attending college.

In each instance, plus a dozen more, Dr. Greene details not only how assumed axioms about American education are routinely wrong, but also how they make the job of improving schools infinitely harder. 

Jay Greene heads the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, where he holds an endowed chair, and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.   He also has taught at the universities of Texas and Houston, and earned his doctorate at Harvard.  He has written prolifically about a wide range of issues, especially school choice, special education, graduation rates, and accountability.