The Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education, 2009

The Bracey ReportOn the Condition of Public Education, 2009

Gerald BraceyNovember 2009

Education Policy Research Unit

Division of Advanced Studies in Education Policy,Leadership, and CurriculumMary Lou Fulton Instituteand Graduate School Education, Arizona State UniversityP.O. Box 872411, Tempe, AZ 85287-2411Telephone: (480) 965-1886E-mail:epsl@asu.edu http://educationanalysis.org

Education and the Public Interest Center

School of Education,University of ColoradoBoulder, CO 80309-0249Telephone: (303) 447-EPICFax: (303) 492-7090Email

:

epic@colorado.edu

http://epicpolicy.org

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Suggested Citation:Bracey, G. (2009).

The Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education.

Boulder and Tempe:Education and the Public Interest Center & Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved [date] fromhttp://epicpolicy.org/publication/Bracey-Report

http://epicpolicy.org/publication/Bracey-Report

Kevin Welner: EditorPatricia H. Hinchey: Academic EditorErik Gunn: Managing EditorEPIC/EPRU policy briefs are peer reviewed by members of the Edi-torial Review Board. For information on the board and its members,visit:http://epicpolicy.org/editorial-board

http://epicpolicy.org/publication/Bracey-Report

In Memoriam: Gerald Bracey 1940 - 2009

For 18 years, “The Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education,”an annual review of education research and policy issues, was published by

Phi Delta Kappan.

In 2009, EPIC/EPRU was pleased to become its new publisher.Sadly, Gerald W. Bracey passed away before he finished editing what will be thefinal

Bracey Report

. We have suffered a great loss. Although he was a socialscientist of considerable talent he eschewed esoteric language and instead spokeand wrote plainly. His writings left strong impressions on readers, whether expertor layperson. When he judged that an official, a newspaper, or a scholar hadplayed lightly with the truth, his expert knowledge was directed toward witheringcritiques. He fearlessly exposed the errors in fact, flaws in methods and illogicthat were built into all too much education research and all too many education“reforms.” Jerry had little patience for received wisdom, no matter how powerfulits purveyors.Fortunately for us all, Jerry’s last report was sufficiently enough devel-oped that it was possible for Susan Ohanian and Pat Hinchey to finish the neces-sary editorial work. Jerry’s wife, Iris, helped, too, by encouraging us to publishthe final

Bracey Report

and by providing Jerry’s notes and reference material. Asa result, the

Report

has been completed with fidelity to Jerry’s words and inten-tions. The

Report

is almost completely Jerry’s but, of course, any shortcomingsare ours.When Jerry passed away, we were contacted by many of the people whohave been touched by Jerry and his work and were asked to create a memorialfund or project that others could donate to in his memory. We have now createdone, attached to the policy centers that had been Jerry’s academic home followinghis 2005 departure from George Mason University.Working with the CU Foundation, we are building a memorial fund thatwould, if fully funded, provide a doctoral fellowship in Jerry’s name. We’rethinking of it as the Bracey Memorial Fellowship, given to a doctoral student witha research-based, hard-nosed commitment to further truth, equity, and social jus-tice. If we reach the $25,000 level for all donations in Jerry’s name, we can createan ongoing scholarship/fellowship. Even if we do not reach that threshold, we willstill use the money for student support in Jerry’s name. Those who would like tocontribute may go tohttp://www.colorado.edu/education/pdfs/Gerald%20Bracey.pdf .Our plans also include a continuation of the Bracey Report tradition bypublishing an annual report in his honor. Realizing what big footsteps we will beattempting to fill, we hope our contributions will serve others as well as Jerry’shave served us. Here then is the

2009 Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education.