IMPROVING PUBLIC EDUCATION THROUGH RESEARCH

2010 Think Twice Reviews

Think Twice is one of the nation’s first efforts to serve as a watchdog to review think tank research on public education issues and policies, ensuring that published work meets the quality and standards of university scholarship. As think tank research becomes increasingly important reference sources in public policy debates, media and other critics have called for increased scrutiny to ensure validity and objectivity (click here to see related stories).

The goal of the Think Twice project is to provide the public, policy makers and the press with timely academically sound reviews of selected think tank publications. It is a collaboration of the Education Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University and the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and practice.

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Reports & Reviews for 2010

Report Reviewed: The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree and Civic Learning on American Beliefs
Publisher/Think Tank: Intercollegiate Studies Institute

This report argues that colleges are failing to provide and adequate education in civic knowledge and is also influencing graduates to become less supportive of American values.

 
Think Twice Review Date: March 17, 2010
Reviewer: Gregory J. Marchant, Ball State University
Marchant’s review of the report finds that it ignores contradictory findings, omits key information, wrongly argues causation and confuses civic knowledge with conservative political values. Marchant warns that the report “may, in fact, be destructive of the very ideals of education the authors ascribe to the Founding Fathers – particularly informed democratic participation.”
Press Release Link name=Review Link

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Report Reviewed: Connecticut’s Charter School Law and Race to the Top
Publisher/Think Tank: Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCan)

This report argues for lifting the charter school cap and increasing funding for charter schools in Connecticut.

 
Think Twice Review Date: March 10, 2010
Reviewer: Robert Bifulco, Syracuse University
Bifulco’s review of this report finds that it ignores relevant research and offers no evidence to support its claim that expanding charters would increase low-income student achievement.
Press Release Link name=Review Link

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Report Reviewed: Expanding Choice in Elementary and Secondary Education: A Report on Rethinking the Federal Role in Education
Publisher/Think Tank: Brookings Institution

This report calls for a federally led, universal expansion of school choice programs and makes the argument that increased choice is what the majority of parents want in federal education reform.

 
Think Twice Review Date: March 3, 2010
Reviewer: Janelle Scott, University of California at Berkeley
Scott’s review of this report finds that it lacks the evidence to support the call for an expansion of school choice. Scott identifies three major shortcomings in the report: it relies too heavily on research in progress and research produced by advocacy organizations; it neglects prior research concerning the nature of parental choice; and it fails to acknowledge that unconstrained school choice has segregative effects.
Press Release Link name=Review Link

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Report Reviewed: How School Choice Can Create Jobs for South Carolina
Publisher/Think Tank: South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation
This report argues that school choice, in the form of vouchers to attend private schools, would create significant job opportunities in five poor, rural counties in South Carolina.
 
Think Twice Review Date: January 14, 2010
Reviewer: Joydeep Roy, Georgetown University
Roy’s review of the South Carolina report finds that it is built on seriously flawed assumptions and offers little insight into the effects of school vouchers. Roy writes that the report relies more on rhetoric and less on authentic research and concludes that it is significantly biased and of little value to policymakers.
Press Release Link name=Review Link

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