Chris Tienken

Christopher Tienken, Ed.D. is an Associate Professor of leadership, management, and policy at Seton Hall University and also an External Member of the Faculty at the University of Catania in Sicily.  He has public experience as a PK-12 assistant superintendent, middle school principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and elementary school assistant principal and an elementary school teacher. Tienken is the current Research Professor in Residence for AASA, The School Superintendents Association, where he conducts their annual superintendent salary and benefit student and the decennial study of the superintendent. He was appointed to the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) in 2021 where he reviews the quality of English language research being produced in Italy. He consults with public schools in the tri-state area and American Overseas Schools in South America and Europe.

Tienken’s research interests focus on curriculum and assessment policy and practice at the local, state, national, and international levels. The Seton Hall College of Education and Human Services named him Researcher of the Year in 2020 and 2014 and he received the Truman Kelley Award for Outstanding Scholarship from the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society. The Institute of Education Sciences at the United States Department of Education and the National Staff Development Council (Learning Forward) have recognized his research in the area of job-embedded professional development.

Tienken has authored over 130 publications including eight books. His third book, Defying Standardization: Creating Curriculum for an Uncertain Future was awarded Outstanding Book by the Society of Professors of Education in 2019. His latest book, The School Reform Landscape Reloaded: More Fraud, Myths, and Lies makes data-informed rebuttals to some of the most common education reform claims and misinformation and provides a blueprint for creating student-centered education policy and programs.