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In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an era of Testing and Standardization
We are in an era of radical distrust of public education. Increasingly, we turn to standardized tests and standardized curricula-now adopted by all fifty states-as our national surrogates for trust.
Legendary school founder and reformer Deborah Meier believes fiercely that schools have to win our faith by showing they can do their job. But she argues just as fiercely that standardized testing is precisely the wrong way to that end. The tests themselves, she argues, cannot give the results they claim. And in the meantime, they undermine the kind of education we actually want.
In this multilayered exploration of trust and schools, Meier critiques the ideology of testing and puts forward a different vision, forged in the success stories of small public schools she and her colleagues have created in Boston and New York. These nationally acclaimed schools are built, famously, around trusting teachers-and students and parents-to use their own judgment.
Meier traces the enormous educational value of trust; the crucial and complicated trust between parents and teachers; how teachers need to become better judges of each others' work; how race and class complicate trust at all levels; and how we can begin to 'scale up' from the kinds of successes she has created.
Legendary school founder and reformer Deborah Meier believes fiercely that schools have to win our faith by showing they can do their job. But she argues just as fiercely that standardized testing is precisely the wrong way to that end. The tests themselves, she argues, cannot give the results they claim. And in the meantime, they undermine the kind of education we actually want.
In this multilayered exploration of trust and schools, Meier critiques the ideology of testing and puts forward a different vision, forged in the success stories of small public schools she and her colleagues have created in Boston and New York. These nationally acclaimed schools are built, famously, around trusting teachers-and students and parents-to use their own judgment.
Meier traces the enormous educational value of trust; the crucial and complicated trust between parents and teachers; how teachers need to become better judges of each others' work; how race and class complicate trust at all levels; and how we can begin to 'scale up' from the kinds of successes she has created.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
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October 2, 2019
In Schools We Trust, Deborah Meier, 2002, 200pp., ISBN 0807031429
Teachers at small innovative public schools, who give even more of themselves than average teachers at ordinary schools, can achieve impressive levels of high-school graduation and college entrance, among "at-risk" students (with only average per-pupil funding).
"I have recently reconsidered the fact that I have no formal office. My easy accessibility sometimes feels like a handicap, if I'm honest, because it removes the formality and spatial intimidation that a desk in a big office offers." (p. 46)
"To provide even humdrum homework every night requires several hours per day. Thirty kids times five minutes per child equals 2.5 hours." (p. 55)
"In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate."—Marian Wright Edelman, 1992 (p. 78)
This sort of success IS scalable: /Many/ small schools can operate within a public school system—each successful if given sufficient autonomy.
High-stakes standardized testing is a huge destroyer of public education. Standardized-test questions are /designed/ so that the "right" answer will be more obvious to the "in" group than to the "out" group. Scores on standardized tests correlate with wealth, whiteness, and maleness. NOT with future academic success. Women get lower SAT scores than men: women do better in college than men. Black students who score 1000 on the SAT are far better students than whites who score 1200.
The author shows amazing commitment and inventiveness in creating schools that work. And she's not alone. She gives us an impressive reading list in the last several pages, books by people who've performed similar miracles in the past few years.
One of Meyer's hot buttons is making adults accessible for kids to interact with. /The Tipping Point/ by Malcom Gladwell gives a nod to this idea in noting that there is a tipping point in neighborhoods: where fewer than about 5% of the adults have some sort of professional status, school dropout rates and teen pregnancy rates soar. Part of Meyer's program is letting kids /know/ their teachers.
Teachers at small innovative public schools, who give even more of themselves than average teachers at ordinary schools, can achieve impressive levels of high-school graduation and college entrance, among "at-risk" students (with only average per-pupil funding).
"I have recently reconsidered the fact that I have no formal office. My easy accessibility sometimes feels like a handicap, if I'm honest, because it removes the formality and spatial intimidation that a desk in a big office offers." (p. 46)
"To provide even humdrum homework every night requires several hours per day. Thirty kids times five minutes per child equals 2.5 hours." (p. 55)
"In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate."—Marian Wright Edelman, 1992 (p. 78)
This sort of success IS scalable: /Many/ small schools can operate within a public school system—each successful if given sufficient autonomy.
High-stakes standardized testing is a huge destroyer of public education. Standardized-test questions are /designed/ so that the "right" answer will be more obvious to the "in" group than to the "out" group. Scores on standardized tests correlate with wealth, whiteness, and maleness. NOT with future academic success. Women get lower SAT scores than men: women do better in college than men. Black students who score 1000 on the SAT are far better students than whites who score 1200.
The author shows amazing commitment and inventiveness in creating schools that work. And she's not alone. She gives us an impressive reading list in the last several pages, books by people who've performed similar miracles in the past few years.
One of Meyer's hot buttons is making adults accessible for kids to interact with. /The Tipping Point/ by Malcom Gladwell gives a nod to this idea in noting that there is a tipping point in neighborhoods: where fewer than about 5% of the adults have some sort of professional status, school dropout rates and teen pregnancy rates soar. Part of Meyer's program is letting kids /know/ their teachers.
November 12, 2014
I was recently in a conference where the writer had a the keynote, she had a great speech that made me stretch my hands to my pen and notebook to keep what she said in mind. I am currently reading another one of hers (The Power of Their Ideas) and have read (Many Child left behind), So I plan to write a reflection on all them together and I am gonna put them in here too.
February 18, 2020
As in her first book, The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons from America from a Small School in Harlem, Deborah Meier uses her experience as a principal of a small public school to illustrate her ideas of what the best of public education in a democracy can and should be. By grounding the book in her personal experience, her ideas become not just academic rhetoric, but complex stories of real children, teachers and parents. However, this is not specifically a narrative of a particular school, but rather an exploration and critique of ideas central to today’s struggles to improve public education for all children, using real stories to bring these ideas to life.
As the title implies, Meier centers the book around the idea of trust. She discusses what trust means, its centrality to learning, and how the issue of trust plays out on a variety of levels. As in her other works, Meier argues that the necessary level of trust is best built on as small a scale as practical. True trusting relationships require knowing each other well. And in heterogeneous communities getting to know each other well takes extra care and work. As common assumptions differ among different cultures, it becomes easy to inadvertently break that trust based on misconceptions, misinterpretations and unacknowledged biases.
Meier has divided the book into three section. The first centers on the school level. In this section she uses examples from her own schools to illustrate these issues extensively. The second discusses the current high stakes testing environment. The third looks at the larger political and policy contexts.
In the first section she looks at the issue of trust from a variety of in-school perspectives: adults and students, parents and school, teachers and teachers, and how issues of race and class further complexify all of these. Each of these issues is explored with anecdotal stories from her experiences in the three schools she has founded and directed.
The second section examines how high stakes standardized tests have arisen as a mistaken answer to the lack of policy makers’ trust in teachers and students. Meier examines closely what such tests can and can’t tell us about important learning, coming to the conclusion that not much important about individual children or deep learning can be gained from such tests. Further she looks at what effect these tests have on eroding the very trust they are supposedly designed to restore. She then examines what high standards, rather than standardization can mean for improving schools and the quality of learning. And finally she looks at what influence each of these stances are likely to have on the achievement gap. Again, she is able to compare how the exhibitions and portfolio assessments used in her schools have compared to the standardized tests both for what they tell us about students and about how they drive curriculum.
Many have criticized that despite the amazing and enormous success of all three of her schools with some of the most disadvantaged students, her ideas of small autonomous public schools cannot be taken to scale. In the third section she examines those criticisms. Meier speaks to how the current system is designed to undermine the success of such schools, and what it would take to create a policy environment to encourage rather than discourage such innovations, while still holding schools accountable to the larger public. Finally she sums up with a chapter on how public education and a truly democratic society are dependent on each other.
Meier’s writing style is engaging. The reader gets to feel like they are listening to the musing of a wise woman explore deeply, yet humbly, some of the most important questions confronting our educational system.
Other praise for this book
“A wise and beautiful book that elevates the level of debate on tests and school reform.” —Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities
“A rich, nuanced reflection on trust and schooling that examines trust’s many layers. . . . A terrific, important book.” —Mike Rose, author of Possible Lives
“A passionate, jargon-free plea for a rerouting of educational reform, sure to energize committed parents, progressive educators and maybe even a politician or two.” —Publishers Weekly
“Listen carefully to Deborah Meier’s In Schools We Trust: She speaks to the heart of a school and of democracy itself.” —Theodore R. Sizer, author of Horace’s Compromise and founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
As the title implies, Meier centers the book around the idea of trust. She discusses what trust means, its centrality to learning, and how the issue of trust plays out on a variety of levels. As in her other works, Meier argues that the necessary level of trust is best built on as small a scale as practical. True trusting relationships require knowing each other well. And in heterogeneous communities getting to know each other well takes extra care and work. As common assumptions differ among different cultures, it becomes easy to inadvertently break that trust based on misconceptions, misinterpretations and unacknowledged biases.
Meier has divided the book into three section. The first centers on the school level. In this section she uses examples from her own schools to illustrate these issues extensively. The second discusses the current high stakes testing environment. The third looks at the larger political and policy contexts.
In the first section she looks at the issue of trust from a variety of in-school perspectives: adults and students, parents and school, teachers and teachers, and how issues of race and class further complexify all of these. Each of these issues is explored with anecdotal stories from her experiences in the three schools she has founded and directed.
The second section examines how high stakes standardized tests have arisen as a mistaken answer to the lack of policy makers’ trust in teachers and students. Meier examines closely what such tests can and can’t tell us about important learning, coming to the conclusion that not much important about individual children or deep learning can be gained from such tests. Further she looks at what effect these tests have on eroding the very trust they are supposedly designed to restore. She then examines what high standards, rather than standardization can mean for improving schools and the quality of learning. And finally she looks at what influence each of these stances are likely to have on the achievement gap. Again, she is able to compare how the exhibitions and portfolio assessments used in her schools have compared to the standardized tests both for what they tell us about students and about how they drive curriculum.
Many have criticized that despite the amazing and enormous success of all three of her schools with some of the most disadvantaged students, her ideas of small autonomous public schools cannot be taken to scale. In the third section she examines those criticisms. Meier speaks to how the current system is designed to undermine the success of such schools, and what it would take to create a policy environment to encourage rather than discourage such innovations, while still holding schools accountable to the larger public. Finally she sums up with a chapter on how public education and a truly democratic society are dependent on each other.
Meier’s writing style is engaging. The reader gets to feel like they are listening to the musing of a wise woman explore deeply, yet humbly, some of the most important questions confronting our educational system.
Other praise for this book
“A wise and beautiful book that elevates the level of debate on tests and school reform.” —Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities
“A rich, nuanced reflection on trust and schooling that examines trust’s many layers. . . . A terrific, important book.” —Mike Rose, author of Possible Lives
“A passionate, jargon-free plea for a rerouting of educational reform, sure to energize committed parents, progressive educators and maybe even a politician or two.” —Publishers Weekly
“Listen carefully to Deborah Meier’s In Schools We Trust: She speaks to the heart of a school and of democracy itself.” —Theodore R. Sizer, author of Horace’s Compromise and founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
November 17, 2015
As a lifelong educator and reform advocate, Deborah Meier certainly has the experience needed to tackle the issues presented in her book, In Schools We Trust. Meier writes passionately and convincingly by drawing from personal stories to present lessons learned: “hard-won, democratic trust in each other, tempered by healthy, active skepticism and a demand that trust be continually earned” is necessary for parents, teachers, and the government in order to create the “communities of learning” our society so desperately needs (3).
One of the most enjoyable elements of Meier’s writing is her uncompromising attitude and “faith in the extraordinary drive and capacity of all children to learn and in the ability of ordinary adults to be powerful, active citizens in a democracy” (3). As a founder of the Mission Hills School in Boston, Meier has experienced and seen her fair share of troubles and failures. Instead of dwelling on them, she turns them around and presents idea after idea on how to better communication, decision-making, or whatever it is that needs to be improved. Meier is also willing to delve into uncomfortable topics, such as the issues of critiquing colleagues and racial tensions, in order to discuss what it is that can be changed, all so that schools can be “a place where [children] dare to challenge themselves to go beyond their customary limits, and even beyond the viewpoint of their families and communities -- to explore the wider world” (57).
It is also important to note that in parts two and three, the sections where Meier takes on the inadequacy of standardized testing and the implications of “scaling up” from successful schools, readers might get lost in certain passages that require previous knowledge of the history of education reform. Of course, Meier does seem to expect to be writing more for an audience of educators than one of high-school students, and this issue does not take away from the impact it leaves on the reader.
Overall, Meier’s plea for education reform is loud and clear: each one of us must work together to make our education system the best it can be, and that can only start with trust in each other and in ourselves. A book that will make you rethink what you believe about education reform, In Schools We Trust definitely deserves the hype it has gotten since its release. ~ Student: Charissa L.
One of the most enjoyable elements of Meier’s writing is her uncompromising attitude and “faith in the extraordinary drive and capacity of all children to learn and in the ability of ordinary adults to be powerful, active citizens in a democracy” (3). As a founder of the Mission Hills School in Boston, Meier has experienced and seen her fair share of troubles and failures. Instead of dwelling on them, she turns them around and presents idea after idea on how to better communication, decision-making, or whatever it is that needs to be improved. Meier is also willing to delve into uncomfortable topics, such as the issues of critiquing colleagues and racial tensions, in order to discuss what it is that can be changed, all so that schools can be “a place where [children] dare to challenge themselves to go beyond their customary limits, and even beyond the viewpoint of their families and communities -- to explore the wider world” (57).
It is also important to note that in parts two and three, the sections where Meier takes on the inadequacy of standardized testing and the implications of “scaling up” from successful schools, readers might get lost in certain passages that require previous knowledge of the history of education reform. Of course, Meier does seem to expect to be writing more for an audience of educators than one of high-school students, and this issue does not take away from the impact it leaves on the reader.
Overall, Meier’s plea for education reform is loud and clear: each one of us must work together to make our education system the best it can be, and that can only start with trust in each other and in ourselves. A book that will make you rethink what you believe about education reform, In Schools We Trust definitely deserves the hype it has gotten since its release. ~ Student: Charissa L.
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October 25, 2012I enjoyed this book. Much of what she said seemed sensible to me -- that trust and accountability can't, in the end, be legislated, but are to be found in relationships and the particularities of individual people.
Favorite passages:
This articulated one of my own fundamental difficulties with taking my first child to public school. We visited (as we were trying to decide whether to go to private school instead) but were repeatedly asked at the public school why we wanted to visit. It was so I could answer the question: "Am I comfortable leaving my child here?":
"At Mission Hill we insist that parents visit before they make any final decision, alhtough teh citywide mandatory choice system does not require this. Why? So they can look at our classrooms and ask, am I comfortable leaving my kid in this place? It's a question not of agreeing with everything we do, I tell them, but of feeling safe with our making important decisions . . . What I offer as a teacher, after all, is not just an acceptable babysitting expereince but rather, like my doctor, professional expertise. What kind of evidence of my trustworthiness can parents legitimately demand? What kinds of questions are they entitled to have answers to? How should parents balance trust and skepticism?"
"One might wish all third graders could read the Harry Potter books; but is this goal reasonable? . . . . reading the Californa art standards for kindergarten, one is inclined to think that test makers had in mind the scope and sequence for a postdoctoral program in the arts."
In regard to standards and standardized tests, she references Fairtest
Favorite passages:
This articulated one of my own fundamental difficulties with taking my first child to public school. We visited (as we were trying to decide whether to go to private school instead) but were repeatedly asked at the public school why we wanted to visit. It was so I could answer the question: "Am I comfortable leaving my child here?":
"At Mission Hill we insist that parents visit before they make any final decision, alhtough teh citywide mandatory choice system does not require this. Why? So they can look at our classrooms and ask, am I comfortable leaving my kid in this place? It's a question not of agreeing with everything we do, I tell them, but of feeling safe with our making important decisions . . . What I offer as a teacher, after all, is not just an acceptable babysitting expereince but rather, like my doctor, professional expertise. What kind of evidence of my trustworthiness can parents legitimately demand? What kinds of questions are they entitled to have answers to? How should parents balance trust and skepticism?"
"One might wish all third graders could read the Harry Potter books; but is this goal reasonable? . . . . reading the Californa art standards for kindergarten, one is inclined to think that test makers had in mind the scope and sequence for a postdoctoral program in the arts."
In regard to standards and standardized tests, she references Fairtest
July 20, 2011
I have a lot of respect for Deborah Meier and very much agree with her viewpoints on education and the ridiculous testing of our era. Still, I was disappointed that there wasn't more NEW information in this book - stuff that I haven't read elsewhere. I did like her discussion about the ambiguity of test answers; it's nice to see that someone reputable agrees that the multiple-choice questions posed on elementary reading tests are confusing. I often feel that more than one answer works and that I can defend more than one choice. How can learning be assessed with these types of tests?
April 11, 2008
A compelling critique of high-stakes standardized testing, as well as a strong argument for small schools. Probably only of interest to teachers-to-be and teachers.
August 11, 2020
Read this book for a class. For my class, I had to discuss this book after each chapter with a partner. There are definitely some interesting points to think and talk about! If you read this book, I would do it with someone!
June 28, 2025
This book started with good ideas but only followed through with opinions and personal experience. It lacked in depth and could be summarized by testing is bad and small unique public schools can work.
January 18, 2022
This pessimistic book reminds the reader what they probably already knew. Schools are awful, and testing makes it worse.
April 7, 2008
If you are an educator, I highly recommend this book. Even if you aren't an educator, but really want to know what is and should be going on in schools, this is a great read. There is a lot of controversy going on about No Child Left Behind and what it has done to the schools. Deborah Meier is a former teacher who discusses what it has done to schools and what schools should actually look like when they have the kids best interest at heart.
May 30, 2012
I like the way Meier writes and this had some interesting data to ponder. However, although the kinds of schools she supports are interesting to me, I wanted her to spend more time describing them and explaining their accountability structures, though of course her whole point is that we should trust educators - an argument that sounds nice, but when it comes down to it, I'm not sure I fully agree. I mostly skimmed my way through, as no ideas as presented here really caught my imagination.
August 15, 2012
I don't feel like this book had a lot to say, or a lot of successful solutions to offer... aside from the assertion that we all need to trust each other, schools, and teachers more... and that smaller schools would be advantageous. Interested to have the book club discussion.
February 19, 2014
While her argument about the importance of trust in schools being essential, and the detrimental impact of standardized testing on said trusted relationship is compelling, I also think it's impractical in the way public schools are run in America.
October 20, 2007
Nice discussion on standardized testing vs. standards.
May 7, 2008
This book is phenomenal. It is Meier's idea for how to fix schools. EVERY teacher should read this book.
January 5, 2011
Nothing I didn't already know, but reassuring to see it in print.
August 12, 2012
Less progressive and more moderate than I expected. Most interesting part is the criticism of bias in testing. The examples are eye-opening and left me wanting more.
November 16, 2015
She speaks TRUTH! A vision of public schools I can believe in!
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