Will Standards Save Public Education?: A New Democracy Forum; Author: Meier, Deborah; Introduction: Kozol, Jonathan; Paperback

Author: Meier, Deborah; Introduction: Kozol, Jonathan
New Democracy Forum Series; Paperback
104 pages
Published: March 2000
Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807004413

As usual, Deborah Meier has a fresh take on standardized tests. While other critics fault standardized tests and what they measure, Meier contests the very idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. This, she argues, sets up a terrible model for students because it doesn't allow for their teachers to emerge as thoughtful, accountable adults, seriously engaged with the dynamics of their own schools, classrooms, and communities. In turn, the students can't learn from them how to be thoughtful, accountable, creative adults and good citizens. Theodore Sizer, Abagail Thernstrom, Linda Nathan and others respond.