An Educational Contrarian

This week the Dallas Morning news published yet another pro test-based accountability article/op-ed by someone of renown—former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings—who along with a great many others has now invested more than three decades promoting a theory of action (“test-based accountability will transform America’s educational system if only the damn educators would get their act together”) that so far has failed to produce the desired result. Thirty years .  Can you imagine a parallel in medicine, engineering, business, or literally any other profession or organization? You can’t because it doesn’t exist. It wouldn’t be allowed to exist. To doggedly stick with what has not yet worked for thirty years is literally unthinkable. So how is it still a thing? How is it that so many people fail to consider that maybe when it comes to accountability we got something wrong?  The claims made here for test-based accountability are old: those who do not support such an accoun...