School Finance through Roza-Tinted Glasses: 5 School Funding Myths from a single Misguided Source
I’ve reached a point after these past few years where I feel that I’ve spent way too much time critiquing poorly constructed arguments and shoddy analyses that seem to be playing far too large a role in influencing state and federal (especially federal) education policy. I find this frustrating not because I wish that my own work got more recognition. I actually think my own work gets too much recognition as well, simply because I’ve become more “media savvy” than some of my peers in recent years.
I find it frustrating because there are numerous exceptional scholars doing exceptional work in school finance and the economics of education whose entire body of rigorous disciplined research seems drowned out by a few prolific hacks with connections in the current policy debate (see: The Handbook do Research on Education Finance and Policy). It may come as a surprise to readers of popular media, but individuals like Rick Hess (AEI) or Bryan Hassel (Public Impact) wouldn’t remotely be considered as credible scholars in the field by those who are actually credible scholars. I’d perhaps have less concern – and be able to blow this off – if the assertions