Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.

In DC, policymakers think that if we can only have high enough standards, tough enough tests, and hold people accountable, we can close the achievement gap. And it hasn't happened. Yet the new law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, is based on the same test-based and market-driven framework and ideology, except it lets the states do it.

Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves?

Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.

Those who can’t teach, pass laws about how to evaluate teachers.

The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency.

Testing is not a substitute for curriculum and instruction. Good education cannot be achieved by a strategy of testing children, shaming educators, and closing schools.