Nationally Acclaimed Educator to Speak About High Stakes Testing and Accountability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 2, 2004
CONTACT: Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Nationally Acclaimed Educator to Speak About High Stakes Testing and Accountability
David Berliner, Ph. D., Regents Professor of Psychology in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Arizona State University, will deliver a free lecture on Thursday, Feb. 12, 4:15-6:00 p.m., in Harlen Adams Theatre (PAC 144), California State University, Chico.
The CSU, Chico Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, a professional organization for educators, is bringing Berliner to Chico to talk about the standards-based movement. His focus is on the testing and accountability aspects of standards-based education. Students, teachers, administrators, parents and community members are welcome to attend the talk.
Berliner’s perspective on standards-based testing differs from the view of those who crafted the “No Child Left Behind” educational policy. He suggests that tests and test scores are misused to judge schools, teachers and principals. He is known for his support of teachers who live with the daily tasks of teaching and learning, while simultaneously dealing with bad press, negative headlines and the public’s perceptions that students aren’t learning.
Berliner gained national attention for the book he co-authored with colleague Bruce Biddle, “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools” (New York: Addison-Wesley, 1995). The authors debunked criticism of public education by offering research-based good news about America’s public schools. Arguing against the notions that SAT scores were dropping, illiteracy rates were up and investment in public education doesn’t pay off, Berliner and Biddle provided data that supports the opposite conclusion.
Berliner has taught at Arizona State University in Tempe since 1988. He is past president of the American Educational Research Association and of the educational psychology division of the American Psychological Association. He received the Brock International Award for distinguished contributions to education from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, in 2003. He was elected to the National Academy of Education in 1999, and received National Education Association’s highest honor, the Friends of Education Award, in 1994.
Berliner has co-authored five books in addition to “The Manufactured Crisis,” and is editor and associate editor of various educational handbooks and journals.
“We are really lucky to have Dr. Berliner visit us in Chico. His time-on-task research and his studies of the development of teacher expertise in the 80s significantly influenced teacher preparation and classroom instructional practices. His research in the 90s in defense of America’s public schools and his current stance on high-stakes accountability assessment have major policy implications for our schools,” said Kay Cushing, Department of Psychology and president of Phi Delta Kappa.
Cushing urged anyone interested in public education to attend the lecture. For more information, you can contact Cushing at 530-898-5281.
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