Anno III– Numero 9
C. H. Tienken, D.C.Orlich, The School Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth
and Lies, Rowman and Littlefield, New York 2013, pp. 172
The School Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth and Lies delivers a compelling account and
perspective on education reform of the United States spanning over 200 years. This book
is an excellent resource for education majors, school administrators, and boards of
education confronting the challenging landscape of educating students of diverse
academic abilities. In reviewing this book, the primary criteria included relevance to
education and societal impact of reforms.
Tienken and Orlich successfully argue that education reformers have dismissed the
unitary system of education in favor of a dual system of education foregoing support for
the economically disadvantaged and student with special needs by inflicting national
curriculum, charter schools, and standardized testing. However, authors fail to
acknowledge trend of education reform and relationship to industries in need of cheap,
uneducated labor.
Dr. Christopher H. Tienken, a K12 curriculum guru, is an assistant professor in the
College of Education and Human Services at Seton Hall University, New Jersey. Dr.
Donald C. Orlich is professor emeritus of education and science instruction at Washington
State University, Pullman.
Tienken and Orlich weave through the history of education reform dispelling
arguments of the failing American education system to offer compelling results for hope
and prosperity. Chapters offer a chronological framework to review historical education
reforms leading to present day policies. Readers are given opportunities to reflect on past
and current education reforms that have propelled student achievement toward national
curriculum, charter schools, and standardized testing.
The School Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth, and Lies critique the American
education system and big business in their mutual quest for cheap labor and global
competition. Policy makers create national standards for assessment of student
knowledge or is it assessments that measure national standards? As the authors point
out, in either case «The corporate contract means that the schools are no longer social
institutions with the primary mission of serving and educating the youth. Current policy
endorses a corporate-profit model instead» (Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p. 9). Through
historical education reforms, authors demystify the notion of an education system for all to
reveal a dual-purpose system driven by socio-economics and big business.
The organization of book chapters represent systematic development of education
reform from Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 through Common Core Standards in 2010 and
the guiding principals behind landmark decisions reshaping student learning and
assessment of knowledge. Tienken and Orlich make a careful effort to present relevant
national and state policies that alter achievement of low socio-economic students. Reforms
tend to adversely create social issues that affect students of low-socioeconomic status,
requiring greater amounts of financial and personnel resources (Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p.
81). Money does not solve problems in education; it merely creates a mask to shade
suffering and declining student morale.
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Anno III– Numero 9
Beginning with Ordinances of 1785 and 1787, American education reformers
envisioned the creation of public schools serving the needs of a progressive society. The
reader is given a brief history of influential persons from Jefferson through Dewey that
challenged and shook the foundation of education to its core. In this view, early conflict
arose between reformers wanting a unitary system of education and those seeking a dualsystem. Authors work through the guiding principles of American education to dismiss the
concept of failing schools by demonstrating calculated reforms that undermine academic
achievement and social growth of the most disadvantaged populations.
Education reformers continually use policy to undermine the unitary system of
education that symbolizes democracy. The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education in
1918, held firm the belief that college preparation for all students is possible through
diverse curriculums. However, reforms such as Committee of Ten of Secondary School
Studies in 1893 work against a system attempting to advance socio-economically
challenged members of society, regardless of being an immigrant or native-born citizen.
Authors present statistical evidence for failure of national curriculums, charter schools, and
standardized testing as proponents that will produce greater academic achievement. The
reality of a dual-system of education creates greater distance between students living in
low socio-economic environments in comparison to students having more resources to
counter smothering curriculums.
Tienken and Orlich unfold historical events such as Sputnik in 1957 that propelled
education in America as the demon of failure for not reaching the stars before the
Russians. Presidents from Kennedy through Obama have used Sputnik to spur American
education to produce more mathematicians and scientists. Education was under attack for
its seemingly lack of success. Policy makers quickly and deceitfully constructed reform
after reform over the past 50 years to achieve this imaginary degree of failure. The space
race is over, yet American reformers have not forgotten their defeat. Current reforms now
aims to align student achievement with the ability to compete and survive in a global free
market society. Common Core to the rescue! Tienken and Orlich may disagree on that
notion of success without empirical evidence.
The authors share a common view that American education through national
curriculum, establishment of charter schools, and standardized testing has demoralized
the fabric of a democratic society. Through careful analysis of education reforms, authors
demonstrate a systematic betrayal of the unitary-system of education for a more profit
ideology of the dual-system of education catering to the privileged. Authors utilize the
Critical Social Theory to analyze education reform along socio-economic and racial lines
for application with the unitary-system of education. Additionally, Efficiency Movement and
Banking Model were used to analyze the economic characteristics of dual-system of
education. Tienken and Orlich contend that education reforms of late (NCLB, CCSS) have
been the result of a manufactured crisis to undermine the unitary-system of education;
«Those with power prescribe a less democratic system for those who come to school with
less» (Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p. 15). Society eventually crumbles under the weight of the
few and powerful.
Tienken and Orlich provide options to assess student knowledge that is more
‘centered on application’ of skills to solve social issues. Utilizing remnants of the EightYear Study in 1942, schools and districts have an abundance of assessments to measure
cognitive and social development of students without burdening taxpayers. The School
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Anno III– Numero 9
Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth, and Lies comes alive with examples of student friendly
assessments to address the growing need to solve social and global issues. Reformers
bark at ideas that free an individual’s mind to actually dream the American dream of
education for all. Remove pressures of poverty to allow cognitive growth of young minds;
«[D] early learning deficits would require greater and more powerful instructional
interventions later in schooling» (Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p. 73). Learning requires nurturing
of the mind through positive social interactions among peers and adults.
Tienken and Orlich reveal the spiraling conflicts that exist between education
reformers and its intention (or not) to serve all citizens equally; «[D] public education is the
only public service capable of unifying the society around the ideals of democracy»
(Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p. 7). Is unifying around ideals of democracy truly educations’
role? Rehashed reforms over the past 50 years have conned the masses into believing
and accepting failure as gospel when no empirical data exist to confirm propaganda.
Creating education reform with unattainable goals even for the elite has risen to reformers
‘tweaking’ policies to allow greater economic suffering for the low socio-economic citizens.
The climate of education has seen a dramatic shift from the needs of students to the
demands of the business of education (Tienken, Orlich, 2013, p. 107). Authors supply an
in-depth analysis of the various aspects of education reform often annotated or forgotten in
administrative studies.
One point of interest is the lack of connection to student achievement and the need
to supply various for-profit industries with ‘clients’ and cheap labor. America is a capitalist
society on the heels of democracy dictating the continuous feed of non-educated human
capital. The failing American education reforms spanning over 200 years guarantees forprofit industries, from construction of prisons, to suppliers of toiletries, a hefty purse of
American tax-dollars. Schools are the training grounds to subject societies limitations on
low socio-economic individuals; «[D] penalizing the poor children and their teachers for
conditions over which these youngsters and adults have no control» (Tienken, Orlich,
2013, p. 72). We, as a society, must do better to curtail this epidemic of social injustice.
Kent A. Thompson
Ph.D student in “Education, Leadership, Management and Policy” –
Seton Hall University, New Jersey
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