Books
Bad Lessons
– New York Times, January 8, 1993.Excerpt: President-elect Bill Clinton is right to make education a top priority. He is wrong in his understanding of what needs fixing. Not one of his main educational policies —… More
SAT Reform Fails the Needy
– Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2002.Excerpt: Last week’s reforms of the SAT — a new writing test, elimination of the famous analogy items, and the addition of higher-level math problems — signal an evolution… More
Sex Ed at Harvard
– New York Times, January 23, 2005.Excerpt: FORTY-SIX years ago, in “The Two Cultures,” C. P. Snow famously warned of the dangers when communication breaks down between the sciences and the humanities. The… More
Acid Tests
– Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2006.Excerpt: Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive. NCLB takes a giant step toward… More
Intelligence in the Classroom
– Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2007.Excerpt: Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is… More
Aztecs vs. Greeks
– Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2007.Excerpt: If “intellectually gifted” is defined to mean people who can become theoretical physicists, then we’re talking about no more than a few people per thousand and… More
Abolish the SAT
– The American, July-August, 2007.Excerpt: For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s landmarks. Waiting for the scores—one for verbal, one for… More
The Age of Educational Romanticism
– The New Criterion, May 2008.Excerpt: This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools—its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise. Educational… More
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
– Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008.Excerpt: Imagine that America had no system of post-secondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this… More
Leave This Child Behind
– New York Post, August 17, 2008.Excerpt: When it comes to thinking about our schools, politicians and educators recoil from a truth that the rest of us learned in first grade when we read “Dick and Jane.” That… More
Sentimental Education
– James Pierson, The New Criterion, September 2008.Excerpt: Murray thinks that the nation would be better served if we lowered our expectations about what schools can accomplish and found new ways to train and educate students outside the… More
College Daze
– Forbes, September 2008.Excerpt: College is not all it’s cracked up to be. Dumbed-down courses, flaky majors and grade inflation have conspired to make the letters B.A. close to meaningless. But another problem… More
Murray’s Truths
– Liam Julian, Weekly Standard, September 22, 2008.Excerpt: Charles Murray has written a bracing book about education, one determined not only to upset apple carts, but explode them. In varied ways he has succeeded, and for that we should… More
Good Teachers in Bad Times
– Washington Times, October 14, 2008.Excerpt: It is a bad time to be a good public school teacher, as I had occasion to discover at a personal level when I recently wrote a book on education. I was criticizing the anemic… More
We Can’t All Make the Grade
– Standpoint, October 2008.Excerpt: It is a gradient that, given fine-grained tests, will be found to apply from Year 1 to university. In Year 1, it is indeed true that almost all children can learn everything that… More
Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?
– New York Times, December 28, 2008.Excerpt: BARACK OBAMA has two attractive ideas for improving post-secondary education — expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits — but he needs to hitch them to a… More
Twelve Ideas for the Middle Class
– National Review, February 9, 2009.Excerpt: Contemporary conservatism has too often lost touch with the concrete concerns of middle-class America. For a long time, conservatism thrived politically on the domestic troika of… More
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality
– (New York: Crown Forum, 2008.)Summary from Publisher: “The most talked-about education book this semester.” —New York Times From the author of Coming Apart, and based on a series of controversial Wall… More
Why Charter Schools Fail the Test
– New York Times, May 5, 2010.Excerpt: The latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most… More
Software’s Pull on Hard-to-Reach Teens
– Washington Times, October 10, 2010.Excerpt: Forget teachers unions, undisciplined classrooms, social promotions or any of the other usual complaints about public secondary education. The real problem is that we are not… More
The Shaky Science Behind Obama’s Universal Pre-K
– Bloomberg, February 20, 2013.Excerpt: “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” said U.S. President Barack Obama in Feb. 14 speech in Decatur,… More
Our Futile Efforts to Boost Children’s IQ
– Bloomberg View, November 14, 2014.Excerpt: It’s one thing to point out that programs to improve children’s cognitive functioning have had a dismal track record. We can always focus on short-term improvements, blame… More
Essays
Bad Lessons
– New York Times, January 8, 1993.Excerpt: President-elect Bill Clinton is right to make education a top priority. He is wrong in his understanding of what needs fixing. Not one of his main educational policies —… More
SAT Reform Fails the Needy
– Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2002.Excerpt: Last week’s reforms of the SAT — a new writing test, elimination of the famous analogy items, and the addition of higher-level math problems — signal an evolution… More
Sex Ed at Harvard
– New York Times, January 23, 2005.Excerpt: FORTY-SIX years ago, in “The Two Cultures,” C. P. Snow famously warned of the dangers when communication breaks down between the sciences and the humanities. The… More
Acid Tests
– Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2006.Excerpt: Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive. NCLB takes a giant step toward… More
Intelligence in the Classroom
– Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2007.Excerpt: Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is… More
Aztecs vs. Greeks
– Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2007.Excerpt: If “intellectually gifted” is defined to mean people who can become theoretical physicists, then we’re talking about no more than a few people per thousand and… More
Abolish the SAT
– The American, July-August, 2007.Excerpt: For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s landmarks. Waiting for the scores—one for verbal, one for… More
The Age of Educational Romanticism
– The New Criterion, May 2008.Excerpt: This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools—its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise. Educational… More
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
– Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008.Excerpt: Imagine that America had no system of post-secondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this… More
Leave This Child Behind
– New York Post, August 17, 2008.Excerpt: When it comes to thinking about our schools, politicians and educators recoil from a truth that the rest of us learned in first grade when we read “Dick and Jane.” That… More
Sentimental Education
– James Pierson, The New Criterion, September 2008.Excerpt: Murray thinks that the nation would be better served if we lowered our expectations about what schools can accomplish and found new ways to train and educate students outside the… More
College Daze
– Forbes, September 2008.Excerpt: College is not all it’s cracked up to be. Dumbed-down courses, flaky majors and grade inflation have conspired to make the letters B.A. close to meaningless. But another problem… More
Murray’s Truths
– Liam Julian, Weekly Standard, September 22, 2008.Excerpt: Charles Murray has written a bracing book about education, one determined not only to upset apple carts, but explode them. In varied ways he has succeeded, and for that we should… More
Good Teachers in Bad Times
– Washington Times, October 14, 2008.Excerpt: It is a bad time to be a good public school teacher, as I had occasion to discover at a personal level when I recently wrote a book on education. I was criticizing the anemic… More
We Can’t All Make the Grade
– Standpoint, October 2008.Excerpt: It is a gradient that, given fine-grained tests, will be found to apply from Year 1 to university. In Year 1, it is indeed true that almost all children can learn everything that… More
Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?
– New York Times, December 28, 2008.Excerpt: BARACK OBAMA has two attractive ideas for improving post-secondary education — expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits — but he needs to hitch them to a… More
Twelve Ideas for the Middle Class
– National Review, February 9, 2009.Excerpt: Contemporary conservatism has too often lost touch with the concrete concerns of middle-class America. For a long time, conservatism thrived politically on the domestic troika of… More
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality
– (New York: Crown Forum, 2008.)Summary from Publisher: “The most talked-about education book this semester.” —New York Times From the author of Coming Apart, and based on a series of controversial Wall… More
Why Charter Schools Fail the Test
– New York Times, May 5, 2010.Excerpt: The latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most… More
Software’s Pull on Hard-to-Reach Teens
– Washington Times, October 10, 2010.Excerpt: Forget teachers unions, undisciplined classrooms, social promotions or any of the other usual complaints about public secondary education. The real problem is that we are not… More
The Shaky Science Behind Obama’s Universal Pre-K
– Bloomberg, February 20, 2013.Excerpt: “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” said U.S. President Barack Obama in Feb. 14 speech in Decatur,… More
Our Futile Efforts to Boost Children’s IQ
– Bloomberg View, November 14, 2014.Excerpt: It’s one thing to point out that programs to improve children’s cognitive functioning have had a dismal track record. We can always focus on short-term improvements, blame… More
Commentary
Bad Lessons
– New York Times, January 8, 1993.Excerpt: President-elect Bill Clinton is right to make education a top priority. He is wrong in his understanding of what needs fixing. Not one of his main educational policies —… More
SAT Reform Fails the Needy
– Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2002.Excerpt: Last week’s reforms of the SAT — a new writing test, elimination of the famous analogy items, and the addition of higher-level math problems — signal an evolution… More
Sex Ed at Harvard
– New York Times, January 23, 2005.Excerpt: FORTY-SIX years ago, in “The Two Cultures,” C. P. Snow famously warned of the dangers when communication breaks down between the sciences and the humanities. The… More
Acid Tests
– Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2006.Excerpt: Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive. NCLB takes a giant step toward… More
Intelligence in the Classroom
– Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2007.Excerpt: Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is… More
Aztecs vs. Greeks
– Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2007.Excerpt: If “intellectually gifted” is defined to mean people who can become theoretical physicists, then we’re talking about no more than a few people per thousand and… More
Abolish the SAT
– The American, July-August, 2007.Excerpt: For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s landmarks. Waiting for the scores—one for verbal, one for… More
The Age of Educational Romanticism
– The New Criterion, May 2008.Excerpt: This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools—its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise. Educational… More
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
– Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008.Excerpt: Imagine that America had no system of post-secondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this… More
Leave This Child Behind
– New York Post, August 17, 2008.Excerpt: When it comes to thinking about our schools, politicians and educators recoil from a truth that the rest of us learned in first grade when we read “Dick and Jane.” That… More
Sentimental Education
– James Pierson, The New Criterion, September 2008.Excerpt: Murray thinks that the nation would be better served if we lowered our expectations about what schools can accomplish and found new ways to train and educate students outside the… More
College Daze
– Forbes, September 2008.Excerpt: College is not all it’s cracked up to be. Dumbed-down courses, flaky majors and grade inflation have conspired to make the letters B.A. close to meaningless. But another problem… More
Murray’s Truths
– Liam Julian, Weekly Standard, September 22, 2008.Excerpt: Charles Murray has written a bracing book about education, one determined not only to upset apple carts, but explode them. In varied ways he has succeeded, and for that we should… More
Good Teachers in Bad Times
– Washington Times, October 14, 2008.Excerpt: It is a bad time to be a good public school teacher, as I had occasion to discover at a personal level when I recently wrote a book on education. I was criticizing the anemic… More
We Can’t All Make the Grade
– Standpoint, October 2008.Excerpt: It is a gradient that, given fine-grained tests, will be found to apply from Year 1 to university. In Year 1, it is indeed true that almost all children can learn everything that… More
Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?
– New York Times, December 28, 2008.Excerpt: BARACK OBAMA has two attractive ideas for improving post-secondary education — expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits — but he needs to hitch them to a… More
Twelve Ideas for the Middle Class
– National Review, February 9, 2009.Excerpt: Contemporary conservatism has too often lost touch with the concrete concerns of middle-class America. For a long time, conservatism thrived politically on the domestic troika of… More
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality
– (New York: Crown Forum, 2008.)Summary from Publisher: “The most talked-about education book this semester.” —New York Times From the author of Coming Apart, and based on a series of controversial Wall… More
Why Charter Schools Fail the Test
– New York Times, May 5, 2010.Excerpt: The latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most… More
Software’s Pull on Hard-to-Reach Teens
– Washington Times, October 10, 2010.Excerpt: Forget teachers unions, undisciplined classrooms, social promotions or any of the other usual complaints about public secondary education. The real problem is that we are not… More
The Shaky Science Behind Obama’s Universal Pre-K
– Bloomberg, February 20, 2013.Excerpt: “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” said U.S. President Barack Obama in Feb. 14 speech in Decatur,… More
Our Futile Efforts to Boost Children’s IQ
– Bloomberg View, November 14, 2014.Excerpt: It’s one thing to point out that programs to improve children’s cognitive functioning have had a dismal track record. We can always focus on short-term improvements, blame… More
Multimedia
Bad Lessons
– New York Times, January 8, 1993.Excerpt: President-elect Bill Clinton is right to make education a top priority. He is wrong in his understanding of what needs fixing. Not one of his main educational policies —… More
SAT Reform Fails the Needy
– Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2002.Excerpt: Last week’s reforms of the SAT — a new writing test, elimination of the famous analogy items, and the addition of higher-level math problems — signal an evolution… More
Sex Ed at Harvard
– New York Times, January 23, 2005.Excerpt: FORTY-SIX years ago, in “The Two Cultures,” C. P. Snow famously warned of the dangers when communication breaks down between the sciences and the humanities. The… More
Acid Tests
– Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2006.Excerpt: Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive. NCLB takes a giant step toward… More
Intelligence in the Classroom
– Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2007.Excerpt: Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is… More
Aztecs vs. Greeks
– Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2007.Excerpt: If “intellectually gifted” is defined to mean people who can become theoretical physicists, then we’re talking about no more than a few people per thousand and… More
Abolish the SAT
– The American, July-August, 2007.Excerpt: For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s landmarks. Waiting for the scores—one for verbal, one for… More
The Age of Educational Romanticism
– The New Criterion, May 2008.Excerpt: This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools—its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise. Educational… More
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
– Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008.Excerpt: Imagine that America had no system of post-secondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this… More
Leave This Child Behind
– New York Post, August 17, 2008.Excerpt: When it comes to thinking about our schools, politicians and educators recoil from a truth that the rest of us learned in first grade when we read “Dick and Jane.” That… More
Sentimental Education
– James Pierson, The New Criterion, September 2008.Excerpt: Murray thinks that the nation would be better served if we lowered our expectations about what schools can accomplish and found new ways to train and educate students outside the… More
College Daze
– Forbes, September 2008.Excerpt: College is not all it’s cracked up to be. Dumbed-down courses, flaky majors and grade inflation have conspired to make the letters B.A. close to meaningless. But another problem… More
Murray’s Truths
– Liam Julian, Weekly Standard, September 22, 2008.Excerpt: Charles Murray has written a bracing book about education, one determined not only to upset apple carts, but explode them. In varied ways he has succeeded, and for that we should… More
Good Teachers in Bad Times
– Washington Times, October 14, 2008.Excerpt: It is a bad time to be a good public school teacher, as I had occasion to discover at a personal level when I recently wrote a book on education. I was criticizing the anemic… More
We Can’t All Make the Grade
– Standpoint, October 2008.Excerpt: It is a gradient that, given fine-grained tests, will be found to apply from Year 1 to university. In Year 1, it is indeed true that almost all children can learn everything that… More
Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?
– New York Times, December 28, 2008.Excerpt: BARACK OBAMA has two attractive ideas for improving post-secondary education — expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits — but he needs to hitch them to a… More
Twelve Ideas for the Middle Class
– National Review, February 9, 2009.Excerpt: Contemporary conservatism has too often lost touch with the concrete concerns of middle-class America. For a long time, conservatism thrived politically on the domestic troika of… More
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality
– (New York: Crown Forum, 2008.)Summary from Publisher: “The most talked-about education book this semester.” —New York Times From the author of Coming Apart, and based on a series of controversial Wall… More
Why Charter Schools Fail the Test
– New York Times, May 5, 2010.Excerpt: The latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most… More
Software’s Pull on Hard-to-Reach Teens
– Washington Times, October 10, 2010.Excerpt: Forget teachers unions, undisciplined classrooms, social promotions or any of the other usual complaints about public secondary education. The real problem is that we are not… More
The Shaky Science Behind Obama’s Universal Pre-K
– Bloomberg, February 20, 2013.Excerpt: “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” said U.S. President Barack Obama in Feb. 14 speech in Decatur,… More
Our Futile Efforts to Boost Children’s IQ
– Bloomberg View, November 14, 2014.Excerpt: It’s one thing to point out that programs to improve children’s cognitive functioning have had a dismal track record. We can always focus on short-term improvements, blame… More
Teaching
Bad Lessons
– New York Times, January 8, 1993.Excerpt: President-elect Bill Clinton is right to make education a top priority. He is wrong in his understanding of what needs fixing. Not one of his main educational policies —… More
SAT Reform Fails the Needy
– Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2002.Excerpt: Last week’s reforms of the SAT — a new writing test, elimination of the famous analogy items, and the addition of higher-level math problems — signal an evolution… More
Sex Ed at Harvard
– New York Times, January 23, 2005.Excerpt: FORTY-SIX years ago, in “The Two Cultures,” C. P. Snow famously warned of the dangers when communication breaks down between the sciences and the humanities. The… More
Acid Tests
– Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2006.Excerpt: Test scores are the last refuge of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They have to be, because so little else about the act is attractive. NCLB takes a giant step toward… More
Intelligence in the Classroom
– Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2007.Excerpt: Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is… More
Aztecs vs. Greeks
– Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2007.Excerpt: If “intellectually gifted” is defined to mean people who can become theoretical physicists, then we’re talking about no more than a few people per thousand and… More
Abolish the SAT
– The American, July-August, 2007.Excerpt: For most high school students who want to attend an elite college, the SAT is more than a test. It is one of life’s landmarks. Waiting for the scores—one for verbal, one for… More
The Age of Educational Romanticism
– The New Criterion, May 2008.Excerpt: This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools—its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise. Educational… More
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
– Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008.Excerpt: Imagine that America had no system of post-secondary education, and you were a member of a task force assigned to create one from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this… More
Leave This Child Behind
– New York Post, August 17, 2008.Excerpt: When it comes to thinking about our schools, politicians and educators recoil from a truth that the rest of us learned in first grade when we read “Dick and Jane.” That… More
Sentimental Education
– James Pierson, The New Criterion, September 2008.Excerpt: Murray thinks that the nation would be better served if we lowered our expectations about what schools can accomplish and found new ways to train and educate students outside the… More
College Daze
– Forbes, September 2008.Excerpt: College is not all it’s cracked up to be. Dumbed-down courses, flaky majors and grade inflation have conspired to make the letters B.A. close to meaningless. But another problem… More
Murray’s Truths
– Liam Julian, Weekly Standard, September 22, 2008.Excerpt: Charles Murray has written a bracing book about education, one determined not only to upset apple carts, but explode them. In varied ways he has succeeded, and for that we should… More
Good Teachers in Bad Times
– Washington Times, October 14, 2008.Excerpt: It is a bad time to be a good public school teacher, as I had occasion to discover at a personal level when I recently wrote a book on education. I was criticizing the anemic… More
We Can’t All Make the Grade
– Standpoint, October 2008.Excerpt: It is a gradient that, given fine-grained tests, will be found to apply from Year 1 to university. In Year 1, it is indeed true that almost all children can learn everything that… More
Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?
– New York Times, December 28, 2008.Excerpt: BARACK OBAMA has two attractive ideas for improving post-secondary education — expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits — but he needs to hitch them to a… More
Twelve Ideas for the Middle Class
– National Review, February 9, 2009.Excerpt: Contemporary conservatism has too often lost touch with the concrete concerns of middle-class America. For a long time, conservatism thrived politically on the domestic troika of… More
Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality
– (New York: Crown Forum, 2008.)Summary from Publisher: “The most talked-about education book this semester.” —New York Times From the author of Coming Apart, and based on a series of controversial Wall… More
Why Charter Schools Fail the Test
– New York Times, May 5, 2010.Excerpt: The latest evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest and most extensive system of vouchers and charter schools in America, came out last month, and most… More
Software’s Pull on Hard-to-Reach Teens
– Washington Times, October 10, 2010.Excerpt: Forget teachers unions, undisciplined classrooms, social promotions or any of the other usual complaints about public secondary education. The real problem is that we are not… More
The Shaky Science Behind Obama’s Universal Pre-K
– Bloomberg, February 20, 2013.Excerpt: “Study after study shows that the earlier a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” said U.S. President Barack Obama in Feb. 14 speech in Decatur,… More
Our Futile Efforts to Boost Children’s IQ
– Bloomberg View, November 14, 2014.Excerpt: It’s one thing to point out that programs to improve children’s cognitive functioning have had a dismal track record. We can always focus on short-term improvements, blame… More