Will Standards Save Public Education

by Deborah Meier, Joshua Cohen, Joel Rogers

Somewhere. . . there is a place of sanity where education is intense and substantive. . . . It's in that place that Deborah Meier has been working all these years. Her voice conveys a life of struggle in the front lines-victories and losses, hopes and disappointments. . . . It's a voice our nation needs to hear. --Jonathan Kozol, from the Foreword

Acclaimed educator Deborah Meier offers a fresh take on standardized tests. While others have criticized standards and what they measure, Meier rejects the very idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. Standardization, she argues, prevents citizens-including teachers-from emerging as thoughtful, responsible adults, seriously engaged with shaping their own schools, classrooms, and communities. As a result, young people can't learn from them how to be thoughtful, responsible adults and good citizens, the primary goal of public education in a democracy.

The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns.

"A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out with intelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

106 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2000

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meier's critique of national standards is idealistic in the best way. Though it didn't provide an air tight solution to my question of how students of color will not be left behind if we don't compare standardized test results nationally, I still think her idea for education in this country is the best recourse. In the end, standards need to be localized and in the hands of the communities they serve: the teachers, families, and administrations who are all *fingers crossed* 100 percent committed and up to the challenge of creating standards custom fit for their students.

[Samia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Will Standards Save Public Education, Deborah Meier argues against implementing standards and standardized tests in the opening and closing chapters. Throughout the book, several notable educators respond to Meier, most favoring standards. The book is brief but meaningful in representing the dialogue that led to many federal education acts attempting to standardize education such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The book was published in 2000 and may seem dated but is an important read about education history.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah starts with an essay explaining the assumptions upon which standards are based and proposing a separate set of assumptions and why they are better suited to solving education's problems than standardized tests. this is followed by 7 essays that respond to her essay, pro con and in between. Meier gets the last word. virtually all the essays are well written, including those that I don't agree with.

[Peter M Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

no they did not

[Gea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book to 'see the other side' - essays from folks who are pretty pro-standards yet consider themselves 'liberal' or 'progressive'. Short, but not that good.