This weblog entry is part of a continuing paragraph by paragraph critique of Jay Greene’s essay about myths in education.

The introduction is here.

Jay Greene’s “Education Myths,” paragraph 4
The money myth (continued)

Since the early 1970s, when the federal government launched a standardized exam called the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), it has been possible to measure student outcomes in a reliable, objective way. Over that period, inflation-adjusted spending per pupil doubled. So if more money produces better results in schools, we would expect to see significant improvements in test scores during this period. That didn’t happen. For twelfth-grade students, who represent the end product of the education system, NAEP scores in math, science, and reading have all remained flat over the past 30 years. And the high school graduation rate hasn’t budged. Increased spending did not yield more learning.

Using a single indicator in any complex environment is ridiculous. Using the NAEP as the single indicator of school success is outlandish. As Gerald W. Bracey, an independent researcher and author of numerous books about education, states:

The NAEP levels are impossibly high. For example, In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, American 4th graders finished 3rd among 26 nations in science. Yet NAEP said only 30 percent of them were proficient or better in science. Similar results occurred in math. Little wonder, then, that the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Education, the Government Accounting Office and the Center for Research in Evaluation, Student Standards and Testing have all rejected the NAEP levels. They continue to exist only because there is so much political hay to be made from saying that American schools and students stink. [1]

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires some form of standardized testing, and many states have complied by creating their own tests to match their curriculum. The NAEP in those states is only given to a sampling of schools. continue reading…

This weblog entry is part of a continuing paragraph by paragraph critique of Jay Greene’s essay about myths in education.

The introduction is here.

Jay Greene’s “Education Myths,” paragraph 2
The money myth

If people know anything about public schools today, it’s that they are strapped for cash. Bestselling books, popular movies, and countless lobbying groups portray urban schools as desperately underfunded, and editors of the New York Times write without fear of contradiction that “providing quality education for all America’s children will take…a great deal of money.” Bumper stickers declare, “It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.” No matter what aspect of education is being debated, activists generally find the solution in more school spending.

No quarrel here. Lets move on.

Jay Greene’s “Education Myths,” paragraph 3
The money myth (continued)

This is the most widely held myth about education in America–and the one most directly at odds with the available evidence. Few people are aware that our education spending per pupil has been growing steadily for 50 years. At the end of World War II, public schools in the United States spent a total of $1,214 per student in inflation-adjusted 2002 dollars. By the middle of the 1950s that figure had roughly doubled to $2,345. By 1972 it had almost doubled again, reaching $4,479. And since then, it has doubled a third time, climbing to $8,745 in 2002.

One problem with Greene’s article as a whole is his lack of references. When framing an argument using statistics and studies, one should always note the source of that information. Although he makes a few casual references, you have to wonder where some of his numbers originated. I’m not saying all of his data are in error, but he certainly presents some numbers that are suspect. I don’t expect a footnote for every statement, but when numbers such as cost per student are presented the source should be noted. continue reading…

This is the beginning of a series of posts I wrote in response to an article written by Jay Green a few years ago. It’s been off the internet for some time, but when I decided to start Education in Practice, I thought reposting the critique here would be appropriate as it is still very relevant to the kinds of criticism public education is receiving today. I’ve edited the articles slightly to update them.

Jay Green, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and endowed chair and head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, strikes out at what he believes to be the myths that are keeping public schools from positive change in ”Education Myths,” an article he posted on http://www.taemag.com.[1] I believe Greene has an antipublic-school agenda, and distorts or misrepresents facts to make his points, and this will become apparent to you as you read this series. Greene’s original URL for this article is no longer available, but in the spirit of full disclosure the full text is provided as I explore his missteps in logic or misrepresentation. continue reading…