Public School Truths

Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on David C. Berliner's and Bruce J. Biddle's counterattack on the widespread criticism launched at American public schools. The paper describes how Berliner and Biddle systematically address issues of concern to public school critics, including standardized test scores, violence in schools and literacy and how they react to some of the propositions for public school reform, most notably the voucher system. The paper quotes the authors' opinion that the real problems with American public schools mirror the problems endemic in the United States such as poverty, prejudice, inequality and wrongly allocated funds.

From the Paper:

"David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle counterattack the widespread criticism launched at American public schools in "The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools." The book is well-researched and scholastic in scope even if the authors' tone is sometimes scathing. Their resentment and frustration is directed at a range of targets including special interest groups, political parties, individual politicians, and the media. Berliner and Biddle systematically address issues of concern to public school critics, including standardized test scores, violence in schools, literacy, and the job market. Moreover, the authors react to some of the propositions for public school reform, most notably the voucher system. Berliner and Biddle's critique is thorough, well-documented and well-composed and therefore The Manufactured Crisis emerges as one of the most important books of its kind."

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