For those who are not aware, the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is an international test which provokes many people to get bent out of shape when they see the American results compared to other countries. Politicians and anti-public school groups, as well as sincere reformers, jump on these numbers as proof our schools continue to fail our children.

I ask that, rather than blindly accepting the numbers of TIMSS as an equal comparison, Americans look at the students who are generating the test scores. The first question to ask is not, “Are American scores comparable or better than our fellow nations?” Instead, everyone should be asking, “Are we comparing like populations?”

The sort answer is: no.

The long answer lies below. 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.

As stated in the introduction of this series, I wrote the critique of “Education Myths” a few years back. I resurrected these articles before moving on to newer material because they cover a lot of educational issues that are still important and relevant today. The original “Education Myths” series ended with this final post (which you can read below), but I had intended on continuing the paragraph by paragraph analysis of Greene’s work this summer. I changed my mine.

I’m going to leave the original post as it was written. The issues Greene speaks of will pop up soon enough as they are hot topics (private schools and vouchers). It is time, I think, to move on to other fodder for my critiques.

Original post:

I am being forced to decide where I can find more time in the day. As a good friend of mine says, “What’s your problem? What are you doing between midnight and 5 AM?” Unfortunately, I confess, lately, I am not always sleeping. According to Greene, I should have lots of time to finish my critique of his pathetically supported statements, but fact is stronger than fiction when you are confronted with the reality of running a classroom. It’s time to cut some of the demands of my time, and this self-appointed attempt at exposing Greene is just one of them.

When I sat down to analyze Greene’s next myth, “The rich school myth,” the first sentence was misleading and typical of his style. “A popular myth says that private schools do better than public schools only because they have more money, recruit high-performing students, and expel low-performing students.” The statement, “private schools do better than public schools,” itself is a myth when like-student comparisons are made. [1] Also, he continues to oversimplify the arguments, and produce misleading information as he continues his crusade against public schools. There is also plenty of evidence which debunks his claims made in the final myth that voucher schools work better than public schools. [2]

Proving the next 2 myths to be just as hollow and unsupported as the previous 4 will take many hours of pouring through legitimate and relevant research to find the strongest arguments against Greene. These are hours I no longer have available. School has started.

Like so many of my colleagues, I find myself having to prioritize and this critique has fallen to the bottom of my list. I just can’t spend any more time knocking over Greene’s strawmen at the expense of more important things. Greene is just not worth it. If I felt he was honorable, or engaging in a sincere attempt at looking at these issues in a balanced way, perhaps it would be worth the time. But, as you have seen in my previous posts, it is hard to believe he is doing anything but creating propaganda for his cause.

I could be accused of the same fault, but if you check my sources and his sources carefully, spending the time to read the arguments, you will find that my evidence outweighs his. So, I leave the next two myths unchallenged. Perhaps, when my life has slowed, I will finish this just for a sense of closure, but probably not. Greene is not convincing the people closest to schools – educators, parents, community volunteers – because his claims just don’t ring true when confronted with reality.

Notes and References:

1. Welner, Kevin and Christopher Lubienski. 2006. “Major flaws found in Harvard analysis of government sponsored public, private school research.” Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU),Education Policy Studies Laboratory, Arizona State University. Note: This article is no longer on the web.
2. You can find useful information here about vouchers. Staff. Fact sheets: The truth about vouchers. People for the American Way, website. Another helpful document: “School Vouchers: Myths and Facts,” Staff, American Federation of Teachers, website, pdf file.

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 42
The certification myth (continued)

Members of the education establishment fiercely resist giving up the old linkage of pay to paper accomplishments. When Michigan adopted new standards emphasizing a teacher’s proven academic ability (as measured in skills tests) rather than their credentials or years of experience, the Detroit News profiled angry teachers. “It’s a slap in my face that I have to go back and take a test,” said one teacher with a master’s degree and 30 years of experience.

Members of the education establishment know that continuing education and experience produce better teachers, and this fact is supported by copious research on the topic (see last post). Greene wants to quantify a teacher’s worth by using test scores. After four or more years of college and dozens of continuing education classes (where, I might add, examinations are often given) it is a slap in the face to ask an experienced educator to sit for a standardized test to judge their worth. That educator has already taken numerous tests through accredited institutions. continue reading…