A Think Twice Review of:

Report Card on Education, 1983-84 to 2004-05

Think Twice - Jan 08, 2007

Publisher/Think Tank - American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

Author(s) -

This report, which promotes ALEC’s policy agenda, asserts that student achievement has not been improved by increased spending on education, smaller class sizes or improved teacher salaries. It concludes that improvement will occur when “accountability, choice and competition are injected into our current educational system.”

Reviewer(s) - Gene V Glass, Arizona State University

Glass’s review of this report finds that it falls far short of being valid or useful research. He points out that data in the report are not analyzed and contradictory studies are ignored. In fact, Glass points out that the report fails to cite any research studies at all. He indicates that the report lacks firmly established facts and credible findings on which policy decisions could be based and concludes, “In spite of being clad with myriad numbers and statistics, the Report Card on American Education is rhetoric, not research.”