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Setting the Record Straight: Responses to Misconceptions About Public Education in the U.S. 2nd Edition

by Gerald W Bracey (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Gerald Bracey knows there are three kinds of lies in education policy: lies, damned lies, and the statistics that reactionary reformers tout as evidence in favor of dismantling our public schools. In this second and substantially updated edition of the hard-hitting Setting the Record Straight, Bracey, whom Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews called one of this country's most authoritative defenders of the work of public school teachers, goes toe-to-toe with the opponents of quality public education. You'll learn how to discredit them in your own discussions by using the very logic and statistical analyses they purport to have on their side.

In this series of smart, forceful analyses, Bracey homes in on specific topics like vouchers, school funding, and comparisons to international test scores, themes around which agitators have created a host of mythological American school failures from the flimsiest of evidence. In fact, each essay begins with a question you might commonly hear in conversation about these alleged shortcomings, to which Bracey provides a brief, sound- byte-ready rebuttal. Then he follows it up with a full-length explanation, replete with statistical data and talking points that fully support his assertions-and silence those who would undermine education with disinformation.

Beginning in his introduction with the seed that germinated in Ronald Reagan's Nation at Risk sloganeering and quickly fast-forwarding to the present-day federal intrusion into schools that has propelled so many political careers, Bracey stamps out the weeds of anti-public education advocacy and leaves no threat to quality teaching and learning behind. With Gerald Bracey and the truth behind you, you'll confidently take on the foes of public education in your own community and never again be cowed by the insidious arguments of education reformers.

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  1. ISBN-10
    032500594X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0325005942
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    Heinemann
  5. Publication date
    August 31, 2004
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  8. Print length
    232 pages
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beginning in 1984 Gerald W. Bracey wrote a monthly column for Phi Delta Kappan making research accessible to teaching practitioners. In 2003 the column received the Interpretive Scholarship Award from the American Educational Research Association. Bracey was both an independent researcher and writer and worked at both George Mason University and the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. He earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Stanford University and held positions in private firms, local school districts, universities, and state departments of education.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Heinemann; 2nd edition (August 31, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 032500594X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0325005942
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 17 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Kindergarten - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

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Gerald W. Bracey

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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Hatter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    All right book needed it for college classes
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  • Megan McNeill
    3.0 out of 5 stars Damaged but Do-Able
    Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The book came a little later than anticipated, and had more damage to it than what I was expecting as well. But I needed the text book and Chegg was sold out, so I’m just happy I have the text book now.
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  • madbee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2010
    Gerald Bracey shows how statistics have been manipulated or purposely ignored to push the false message on the American people that our public schools are failing. He explains the agenda which worked to privatize prisons and hospitals, of corporate interests trying to make a profit on our schools by demonizing teachers, unions, and the quality of education in America's schools. Bracey goes through the common (often baseless) arguments and counters them with hard facts.

    This is a very readable book, written in an interesting and understandable prose. For example, when he discusses why SAT scores show a decline, Bracey explains how the original scores and averages were based on a small number of mostly private school students in 1941. Considering the large numbers and the diversity of the students who take SAT's now, they actually show very little or no decline. Also he breaks down the tests that show how the United States is supposedly behind other countries by explaining how the testing is done and who is tested here and in other countries.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Shoxzy
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    it had some good stuff, but wasn't what I needed.
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  • Jessica Ramos
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2014
    Looked just as amazing in photo as they did when they arrived
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  • Walt Gardner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stepping Up to the Plate
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2004
    Gerald W. Bracey is one of few authors today who isn't afraid to confront the exquisitely orchestrated and deeply financed campaign to eradicate public education in this country. "Setting the Record Straight" is his latest contribution exposing the hidden agenda that is at the root of the accountability movement.

    Bracey identifies 17 misconceptions about public education. Each chapter begins with a capsule Q-A format. The question consists of a typical charge leveled at public schools, which he then answers in a sentence or two at most. The rest of the chapter develops his response with documented evidence -- not ideology. His ability to shun jargon makes what he says all the more convincing.

    "Setting the Record Straight" serves as an invaluable corrective to the case being built by those who stand to profit directly or indirectly by the elimination of public schools. It takes its place with the best books on the subject. Not all readers will be pleased with his remarks, but they will have to respect him.

    Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He writes frequently on education.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • John Farley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful debunking
    Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2007
    The media are crawling with supposed experts in education, most of them at right-wing think tanks, who claim that public education in the US has declined in recent decades, and is terrible compared with other countries. Gerald Bracey shows that there has been no serious recent decline in public education in the US, and that the US is about average by comparison with other advanced countries. This puts him at odds with conservatives.

    And not just conservatives: liberals have mostly joined conservatives in crying crisis, although for different reasons. Liberals want to increase funding for public education, and think that the best way to raise funding is to cry that there is a major crisis.

    Anyone who has been taken in by media myths about US public education MUST read Gerald Bracey's books.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Northwesterner
    1.0 out of 5 stars Bracey writes books defending how great public education is, because no one else will, and there is a market for it.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2006
    This guy has been a patsy of the NEA and the NASA for years. He makes a living out of trying to argue that public schools in America are just great. When faced with any criticism, he attributes everything to poverty.

    Gerald Bracey has no solutions for fixing problems with education, except he thinks it needs more money. This guy has been known to say Algebra is useless, and that discovery methods of learning are best. He eschews phonics, and defends whole language.

    On a side note, he runs a listserv discussion on Yahoo Groups, called "eddra". Try posting something, anything, that questions him, and he will not post it to the group. That's right, he has to personally approve of every message that get posted, and many don't make it. Try it if you don't believe me.

    Anybody who won't let their beliefs be subject to scrutiny is not to be looked at with any credibility, if you ask me.

    Read this book only if you are looking to have someone sophisticate for you what is going on in public schools and you need warm fuzzies to feel better. Reasonable people know better.
    8 people found this helpful
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