Defying Standardization

Reviews / Votes

If the standardized education reform industry is the Goliath of our times, then Christopher Tienken is our David. Tienken fearlessly dissects the flawed arguments that undergird the destructive standardization regimen engulfing public schools and de-humanizing teaching and learning. This book is a must read for those teachers, administrators, board members, legislators and parents who have searched for ways to rebut the argument that standardized curricula and assessments are the antidote for failing schools. Defying Standardization is the critical turning point to restoring sanity and humanity in public education. -- Fenwick W. English, Teachers College, Ball State University This is a brilliant critique of the crippling and stifling effects of mass standardization, promoted and enforced by non- educators in the effort to improve the "efficiency" of our public school system. Tienken shows how this trend is killing the curiosity, creativity and innovative thinking that are the purported goals of standardization programs, and yet it is rooted in outmoded theories if essentialism and Taylorism of past eras. -- Leonie Haimson, executive director, Class Size Matters According to President John Adams, 'Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.' Tienken uses facts to systematically dismantle the basic premises of standardized education. His well-researched work y exposes the flaws upon which the current education reform movement rests and provides practical strategies for defying standardized practices in K-12 education. This is a must read if you care about quality curriculum and a vibrant public education system in the United States. -- J. Kenneth Young, associate professor of Educational Leadership at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas