Assessment, Bureaucracy, and Consolidation : The Issues Facing Schools Today

Today American schools are typically large, consolidated, bureaucratic organizations controlled by state and/or municipal governments. The administration of these schools is hierarchical and corporate in form while its curriculum is oriented toward the needs of the business community. Assessment through standardized testing, moreover, has become the cornerstone of American education. Assessment, Bureaucracy, and Consolidation: TheIssues Facing Schools Today examines this remarkable transformation in the form and function of education and assesses the problems and possibilities for the future of schools and our nation.