Public Schools, Education, and Vouchers.

Part of the "Critiques of Libertarianism" site.
http://world.std.com/~mhuben/libindex.html

Last updated 10/25/07.

Libertarians generally adopt anti-public school rhetoric, and recommend vouchers as a first step towards elimination of public schools.

Links

Educational Vouchers: Effectiveness, Choice, And Costs: Henry M. Levin's 1997 American Economics Association presentation, which examines real-world evidence on vouchers. A must-read for those who oppose voucher programs and wish to debunk pro-voucher propaganda.
Educational Reform in an Era of Disinformation: David Berliner's February 1993 article from Education Policy Analysis Archives. A FAQ detailing the false claims about declining performance of American students, and the false attributions of "cause".
Are U.S. Students Behind?: Gerald Bracey's March 1998 article from The American Prospect. Examines results of international comparisons, refuting the notion that our educational system is "broken".
The Myth Of Public School Failure: Richard Rothstein's Spring 1993 article from The American Prospect. Skillfully rebuts the anti public school propaganda which libertarians are so fond of parroting in their general attack on the validity of government.
The Way We Were? Debunking the Myth of America's Declining Schools: A Brookings Institute book by Richard Rothstein that corrects statistical and anecdotal misperceptions of public school performance.
The Case Against Vouchers: Some excellent answers from the Separation Of Church And State Home Page.
The Right's Wrongs on Education and Savings: A Robert Kuttner editorial pointing out how those who beat us in international tests violate right wing prescriptions.
AFT Voucher Home Page: The American Federation Of Teachers is of course interested in this issue, and keeps many up-to-the-minute reviews of research and arguments available.
Wrong for All the Right Reasons: Privatizing The Public Schools: Gordon MacInnes' Wrong for All the Right Reasons presents a big picture of public school privatization and shows how the example of post-secondary trade schools should deter us.
The Market Is Not The Answer: Jonathan Kozol, author of "Savage Inequalities" explains that "monopoly" is not the problem: it is a scapegoat for the inequalities between public school systems. From Rethinking Schools.
Lessons Of Chile's Voucher Reform Movement: Professor Martin Camoy of Stanford points out that real voucher reforms have failed to improve test scores, and have widened the gap between privileged and underprivileged. From Rethinking Schools.
Voucher Veneer: The Deeper Agenda to Privatize Public Education: People For The American Way details how vouchers are a program for the elimination of public schooling, and who would be affected.
Human Capital Theory And Education Policy In Australia: John Quiggan's academic paper that explains why high public spending on education is economically sensible. Technical.

Print References

The links here are to Amazon.com, through their associates program, primarily because of the review information. Books without links are generally out of print, and can often be easily found at AddAll Used and Out Of Print Search. Good sites for bargain shopping for sometimes expensive new books are Online Bookstore Price Comparison and AddAll Book Search and Price Comparison. Both of those list applicable coupons. Another is BookFinder.com.

David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle "The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools": Rebuts propaganda against public schools recited by libertarians.

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Copyright 2007 by Mike Huben ( mhuben@world.std.com ).
This document may be freely distributed for non-commercial purposes if it is reproduced in its textual entirety, with this notice intact.