A preoccupation with achievement is not only different from, but often detrimental to, a focus on learning. Thoughts and emotions while performing an action are more important in determining subsequent engagement than the actual outcome of that action.

The legendary statistical consultant W. Edwards Deming, . . . has called the system by which merit is appraised and rewarded 'the most powerful inhibitor to quality and productivity in the Western world' . . . it is simply unfair to the extent that employees are held responsible for what are, in reality, systemic factors that are beyond their control.

Very few things are as dangerous as a bunch of incentive-driven individuals trying to play it safe.

When test scores go up, we should worry, because of how poor a measure they are of what matters, and what you typically sacrifice in a desperate effort to raise scores.

To be well-educated is to have the desire as well as the means to make sure that learning never ends.

Educators remind us that what counts in a classroom is not what the teacher teaches; it’s what the learner learns.

The race to win turns us all into losers.