The Big Lies of School Reform provides a critical interruption to the ongoing policy conversations taking place around public education in the United States today. By analyzing the discourse employed by politicians, lobbyists, think tanks, and special interest groups, the authors uncover the hidden assumptions that often underlie popular statements about school reform, and demonstrate how misinformation or half-truths have been used to reshape public education in ways that serve the interests of private enterprise. Through a thoughtful series of essays that each identify one "e;lie"e; about popular school reform initiatives, the authors of this collection reveal the concrete impacts of these falsehoods-from directing funding to shaping curricula to defining student achievement. Luminary contributors including Deborah Meier, Jeannie Oakes, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Jim Cummins explain how reform movements affect teachers and administrators, and how widely-accepted mistruths can hinder genuine efforts to keep public education equitable, effective, and above all, truly public. Topics covered include common core standards, tracking, alternative paths to licensure, and the disempowerment of teachers' unions. Beyond critically examining the popular rhetoric, the contributors offer visions for improving educational access, opportunity, and outcomes for all students and educators, and for protecting public education as a common good.

Paul C. Gorski is an Associate Professor of Integrative Studies, teaching in the Social Justice and Education concentrations, at George Mason University and the founder of EdChange.

Kristien Zenkov is an Associate Professor at George Mason University, where he teaches courses in secondary and literacy education and serves as co-director of the "Through Students' Eyes" project.

Foreword
Kevin Kumashiro

Introduction
Paul C. Gorski & Kristien Zenkov

The Big Picture

1. The Pedagogy of Poverty: The Big Lies About Poor Children
Gloria Ladson-Billings

2. Improving Education and the Mistaken Focus on "Raising Test Scores" and "Closing the Achievement Gap"
Rochelle Gutiérrez

Curriculum and Assessment

3. The Common Core: Engine of Inequity
Anthony Cody

4. Direct Instruction: Effectively Teaching Low-Level Skills
Curt Dudley-Marling

5. Detangling the Lies about English-Only and Bilingual Education
Jim Cummins

6. The Test Does Not Know Best: On Collecting Good Evidence for Student Learning
Deborah Meier

Teachers and Teaching

7. Lying about Teachers and Their Training
Kristien Zenkov"

8. Debunking the Lie that Teachers' Unions Are Bad for Kids
Katy Swalwell

Schools and Policy

9. The Truth about Tracking
Lauren Anderson and Jeannie Oakes

10. Poverty, Economic Inequality, and the Impossible Promise of School Reform
Paul C. Gorski

11. Seeing Students as Humans, Not Products: Why Public Schools Should Not Be Run Like Private Businesses
Wayne Au

12. The Trouble with Federal Turnaround Policies and Their Impact on Low-Scoring Schools
Michelle Renée and Tina Trujillo