The War Against America's Public Schools: Privatizing Schools, Commercializing Education

By Gerald W. Bracey

This book provides a comprehensive view of forces such as charters, vouchers, educational management organizations (EMO's), and private schools that are altering the future of public education. Gerald... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321080734
• ISBN13: 9780321080738
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Pearson
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Unlike Dr. Knox .............

At the outset, let me state that my comments are based ONLY on reviewing the section of the book on Charter Schools. I've also read the book by Berliner and Biddle (1995) and found both to be engaging. I do plan to purchase the Bracey book and read it thoroughly.I hold a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and work in the field of assessment and psychometrics. I have published research and conduct evaluation studies as part of my job, therefore I believe that I can comment with an objective stance.My title for this review stems from reading a review by Dr. Knox from Albuquerque and being surprised at his negativity. In my opinion, Dr. Bracey's reputation as a researcher for Phi Delta Kappan and his publication record stand for themselves, but his plain writing is another benefit for educating the public.The salient point for me in Bracey's book is his analysis of the charter school movement in Ohio. In particular I was struck by his observations on David Brennan, an individual heavily and proudly involved in educational management organizations (White Hat Management refers both to his company and to his trademark stetson). Dave was involved in the Cleveland school voucher program, but Bracey points out that he swiftly migrated to the charter schools. Bracey's interpretation is that Dave did so because the financial gain was much more lucrative in charter schools.If one looks at the "evidence" for charter schools collected by the Legislative Office for Educational Oversight (LOEO) and summarized in three yearly reports, an objective reader would not find much to hang his Stetson on (pun intended).I would also refer readers of this review to a recent story by Jacques Steinberg and Diana B. Henriques in the New York Times education section. Their title is "Complex Calculations on Academics" and the publication date is July 16, 2002. It looks like some complex statistical calculations are being used by Edison Schools to argue for their success. Although I find myself agreeing with Dr. Knox that there are problems with public schools, siphoning off public funds to try to improve the lot of urban school children smacks of desperation and the tendency of legislators to think within political cycles (not reform cycles). Because of term limits in Ohio, the cycle is compressed and I fear that adequate evaluations will not be done.All in all, an interested reader will gain much from Dr. Bracey's book, and from reading his many other publications (i.e., Primer on Assessment Literacy).

A Must-Read for People Who Care About Public Education

Three cheers for Gerald Bracey. The eminent researcher for Phi Delta Kappan has done it again. Bracey has strong opinions about public education, and he documents every one of them with facts and figures. At the same time, he exposes the ulterior motives and agendas of public education's strongest critics. Best of all, Bracey writes in English, providing an enjoyable read on an important topic. If you care about our schools, read this book.

Bracey is right on target

Gerald Bracey is brilliant in his incisive documentation of the war on America's schools. Bracey makes it clear that the motives underlying the debasing of the education system are crassly political and shamefully commercial.Every educator in this country should read this book with an open mind. A golden apple to Gerald Bracey!