The Dec. 28th NY Post and my response

The Dec. 28th New York Post had an editorial that shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. The focus was on testing in New York, and the thrust was that we owed more rigorous and lengthier tests to our students...as a demonstration of "genuine achievement". How else can we possibly make schools better; of course the unions and the parents oppose this; other countries want their kids to be smart...shouldn't we?...and so on. I know this paper is a rag-but why does this tripe go unsubstantiated and unchallenged so often?



Here's my response.



The Post December 28th editorial (NY's proficiency exams should demand more from 

students...) is another example of misdirection and misinformation. More difficult and 

lengthier testing doesn't "raise the bar", it diverts resources of time, money, and expertise 

away from learners-trading these things for profit in the testing, data collection, and 

curriculum industries. While little is said, the public is becoming more aware that some 

countries that outperform us academically test far less, and focus far more on equity and 

social structure. While "reformers" would like to drive us to compete with countries whose 

economies grow through exploitation of labor and the environment, the truth of how 

"trickle down" continues to fail, and how unwilling the greediest are to be held 

accountable is becoming more apparent. This focus on creating a generation of workers 

to serve an unfeeling exterior "global economy" further diminishes what is already sorely 

lacking: character and substance within. 

If we want to truly "raise the bar", that bar needs to be in the area of character and 

accountability in policy making and the media coverage it receives: who directs it and 

how.