Note: This column was scheduled to appear on Nov. 25, but was not published until Nov. 30 due to an editing error. Dear Diane, I went up to Boston last weekend for the memorial service/celebration of Ted Sizer's life at Harvard's Memorial Church. Rituals can be wonderful things when we are facing ... Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, The bad news does seem to overwhelm the good news of late. For starters, when talking about education, we need a new vocabulary. The term "achievement" has become synonymous not with the intellectual tasks of schooling, the "using one's mind well" as Ted Sizer put it, but with whatev... Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, The absurdities you describe are on the mark and ought to kill the idea of paying teachers based on their students' test scores. But we both know the idea won't die that easily. Even the most renowned of testing experts argue that we're nowhere near being able to produce tests that can ... Read Full Post >
A newspaper wants more information on who's paying the salary of an Indiana superintendent. Read Full Post >
The biggest report on education in the UK from the last forty years has reached a startling conclusion. The Sats test has had disastrous effects and should be abolished. Read Full Post >
Alternate title: What Does the Best and Wisest Parent Want? Dear Deborah, I am glad to see that you are trying to draw us back to the issues where we have genuine differences! You and I agree that testing and accountability—as currently practiced under NCLB—have become enemies of good... Read Full Post >
Dear Deborah, Over the past week, you and I have each weighed in on the defects of testing. You have been arguing for many years that standardized testing is replete with flaws. I have only recently recognized the ways in which pressure to raise scores, mainly prompted by NCLB, has corrupted testin... Read Full Post >
Editor's note: See author's "P.S." added since entry was first published. I will have to delay a bit before I can get to the book you recommended. When I finished "Daniel Deronda," I immediately plunged into Robert Caro's wonderful biography of Robert Moses, "The Power Broker," which I am enjoying... Read Full Post >
Editor's Note: After this week, Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch begin their annual summer break. Their blog will return in September. Dear Diane, I’m still amazed at how fast the new educational establishment plans to “revolutionize” our schools. I acknowledge that your support for national ... Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, I don’t even trust myself to write standards (of the sort that can be specs for tests) for one school, one district, one state—much less the whole nation! I’m bound to have a better idea a week later. And, given those who are considered the experts these days on matters of sc... Read Full Post >
