Trivializing Teacher Education

Dale D. Johnson, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin - Madison, is a professor of Literacy Education at Dowling College in Oakdale, Long Island, New York. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin for 20 years, served as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, spent several years as an elementary and middle school teacher, and is a past president of the International Reading Association. Dr. Johnson's research centers on vocabulary and comprehension development and on sociopolitical factors affecting public schooling. He is the author of 14 books, numerous scholarly articles, and instructional materials for children, adolescents, and adults. His most recent books are Vocabulary in the Elementary and Middle School (Allyn and Bacon, 2001) and High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002). Bonnie Johnson, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin - Madison, is a professor of Human Development and Learning at Dowling College in Oakdale, Long Island, New York. She has taught at all levels from preschool through graduate school. Dr. Johnson has been awarded the Distinguished Teacher of Teachers Award by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has published widely in scholarly journals. Dr. Johnson's research focuses on the unequal funding of public schools and its effect on student test scores. Her most recent books are Wordworks: Exploring Language Play (Fulcrum Publishing, 1999) and High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002). Stephen J. Farenga, Ed.D. Columbia University, is an associate professor and former chairperson of the Department of Human Development and Learning at Dowling College. His research has appeared in major journals in science education, technology, and education of the gifted. Dr. Farenga has taught science for 15 years at the elementary and secondary levels and has served on the Commissioner's Advi

In this important and provocative volume the authors demonstrate how bureaucratic interests work under the guise of providing assistance and upholding standards. They show the loss of democratic deliberation and the human costs — to real people inside many of our institutions of teacher education — when unreflective policies dominate how we think about and evaluate each other's work. And they do this in a way that challenges us to step back and think about alternative policies and possibilities.

• Chapter 1 The NCATE BrandChapter 2 Interviews with "Stakeholders"Chapter 3 NCATE's Origin, Governance, and ProcessesChapter 4 The StandardsChapter 5 NCATE's Positions, Policies, and ProjectsChapter 6 NCATE and High-stakes TestingChapter 7 NCATE's Lack of ResearchChapter 8 NCATE EconomicsChapter 9 Recommendations and Conclusions