Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools and Why it Isn't So by Jay P. Greene (2005)

The author examines the various myths (as perpetuated by various special interests, in particular of teachers), on lack of resources (schools need more money, too much is spent on special education, student poverty hinders education, smaller class size should fix it all, teacher certification is a must, teachers are underpaid), on school results (school results are declining, most students graduate from high school, social issues prevent minorities from attending collage), on accountability (cheating on tests is rampant, exit exams cause dropouts, accountability is expensive), and on school choice/vouchers (vouchers are ineffective, private schools have more money and they kick out low-performing students, school choice harms public schools, private schools do not serve the disabled, private school do not promote civic values, private schools are racially segregated), and founds them all lacking substance. After dispelling the myths, a short chapter offers the first step on fixing the system, bring back the incentives rewarding teacher performance (and remove incentives for categorizing more children as "learning disabled", as a means of getting a bigger slice of the educational money pie). What strange concepts ...