Description
Book SynopsisAcross our country educational policies and practices are killing our students' desire to learn and teachers' passion to teach. The central theme of this book is that high-stakes testing is having a critically deleterious effect on our students. The fallout impacts parents, teachers, schools, districts and states. Horace 'Rog' Lucido uses language and supporting evidence that is clear and relatable to the reader. Rarely is the topic of teacher care and concern for students ever embedded in works on educational theory and practice, but here it is championed as the driving force for change, exposing the causes and chronicling the effects of educational malfeasance.
Trade ReviewThis insightful book dares to challenge the world we offer children when we trumpet 'No excuses!'—and offers a better way. -- Susan Ohanian, educator, activist, and author of "What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?"
High-stakes testing appeals to politicians and bean counters. Real educators, like Lucido, use varying and creative methods to reach different kinds of children, and they judge their success by multiple measures. Which kind of students does America need—cookie cutter clones or critical thinkers? Educational Genocide describes the crisis in our public schools and offers remedies for parents, teachers, and administrators. -- Angelica Carpenter, curator, Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature, California State University, Fresno
As a long time educator who has witnessed first hand the harmful effects of test score hysteria, I appreciate the very readable in-depth research Lucido has provided in Educational Genocide. As our government begins the 'Race to the Top,' this book is a must-read for anyone who has children, is a teacher, or is involved in education in any way. I wish every legislator would read this book before casting another vote on any test score related education bill! -- Helen Pitton, literacy consultant; founding member of Educators and Parents Against Test Abuse
This is not just a smart book. It is also a touchingly personal narrative. Don’t be fooled by the fact that this work is vital and informative. It is far more than that. It’s genius, and what makes it memorable is Lucido’s gift to speak to us, not just from the head but from the heart as well. -- Elaine Garan, professor of literacy and early education, California State University, Fresno
Education Genocide is much more than a wake-up call . . . . Lucido's exhaustive research and first-hand experience should ignite outrage and a '60s era revolt against high stakes test abuse overtaking the nation's public schools under the punitive politics of No Child Left Behind. Mind-numbing testing can no longer be ignored as a major source of escalating drop-out of students and teachers. -- Jo Ann Rupert Behm, former president, Learning Disabilities Association of California
Lucido (Assessment Reform Network) challenges the notion of standardized testing in schools, warning of the danger of basing educational accountability on superficial test scores. Using research-based evidence, as well as firsthand experience in the form of personal narratives that are easily accessible to his readers, he strongly criticizes the industrial model of schooling and cautions that the educational system is being pushed in the wrong direction as it stifles students' creativity and imagination by focusing on test preparation. Lucido's voice and passion shine through in the numerous examples he uses to illustrate the narrowing of curriculum and the way teaching has been redefined by the extreme concentration on high-stakes testing. Lucido reminds readers that education should be a forgiving process of pushing students to think and achieve; he explains that teaching should be analogous to coaching. His comprehensive knowledge of the literature on testing, as well as extensive experience working with students, is evident, and his presentation of alternative approaches to assessing students' learning makes this book a must read for teachers, administrators, teacher-educators, and even parents. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Are All Things Measurable? Chapter 4 Objectivity Is Subjective Chapter 5 Test Score Addiction Chapter 6 Accountability Is Corrupted Chapter 7 Education for Profit Chapter 8 Oppressing Freedom Chapter 9 Student Anguish Chapter 10 A Culture of Fear Chapter 11 Student, Teacher, and Parent Redress Chapter 12 No Excuses, Just Results Chapter 13 Forgiving Learning
