In previous writings I detailed some of the issues associated with using results from state standardized tests and most other commercial standardized testing products to draw conclusions about student learning, teacher effectiveness, and the overall quality of schools. In this …

May 14, 2019 New Jersey Joint Committee on the Public Schools Comments on State Assessments, Equity, and Accountability Submitted by Christopher H. Tienken, EdD Associate Professor of Education Leadership, Management, and Policy Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ Good morning …

Sound the alarm bells! The results from the international PISA test are coming! The public education sky will fall once again in December 2016 with the release of the results from the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). As …

Much of the school reform marketing revolves around the idea of treating parents and students like consumers: “Students and parents are our clients” is a rallying cry heard throughout the education-reform market. One underlying tenet of treating students and parents …

Complexity Versus Difficulty: Don’t Be Fooled             The vendors and supporters of the Common Core State Standards claim that the Standards require greater emphasis on higher-order thinking than previous state standards in mathematics and English language arts. But what is …

By Christopher Tienken, Ed.D. and Julia Sass Rubin, Ph.D. The first administration of the experimental new PARCC high-stakes standardized tests is only weeks away and parents are increasingly concerned. Hundreds of families have notified their school districts that their children …

Some people have tried to categorize me as anti-standards and anti-testing. I am not “anti” standards and testing, I am pro-evidence. The empirical evidence simply does not support the use of one-size-fits-all curriculum standards and high stakes testing as effective …

CLAIMS Charter schools are marketed to the public as incubators of innovation offering superior levels of student achievement and college and career readiness when compared to traditional public schools. Charter school expansion is supported by some policy makers and bureaucrats …