IS THIS GOOD? – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  The administration has just announced a new policy designed to reduce emphasis on testing in schools.  I think we have to look at this with two eyes.  A de-emphasis on testing may have merit, but it can easily turn into a "no standards" policy designed to "help" kids who just aren't doing the work.  From The New York Times: 

Faced with mounting and bipartisan opposition to increased and often high-stakes testing in the nation’s public schools, the Obama administration declared Saturday that the push had gone too far, acknowledged its own role in the proliferation of tests, and urged schools to step back and make exams less onerous and more purposeful.

Specifically, the administration called for a cap on assessment so that no child would spend more than 2 percent of classroom instruction time taking tests. It called on Congress to “reduce over-testing” as it reauthorizes the federal legislation governing the nation’s public elementary and secondary schools.

“I still have no question that we need to check at least once a year to make sure our kids are on track or identify areas where they need support,” said Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, who has said he will leave office in December. “But I can’t tell you how many conversations I’m in with educators who are understandably stressed and concerned about an overemphasis on testing in some places and how much time testing and test prep are taking from instruction.

COMMENT:  Okay, but I want details.  I agree that there is too much testing, that some tests are poorly constructed, and that political elements on the left have used the testing system to inject their ideas into children's heads.  At the same time, I want some measure of actual progress, or lack of it. 

We also need less Washington to go along with less testing. 

October 24, 2015