Diane Ravitch's Alternative Universe

Amanda Ripley:

In today's New York Times, Diane Ravitch responds to David Brooks and other critics by hoisting well-worn foreign flags.

"No high-performing nation tests its students every year or uses student test scores to evaluate teacher quality."

This is a point Ravitch makes again and again. I usually just glide right by it, since it comes wedged between so many other questionable claims and also some valid points. But since I just got back from visiting these high-performing nations, I must note that Ravitch's version of reality does not match what I saw.

Everywhere I went, testing was absolutely embedded in the system. It took different forms, and in some places it was done more intelligently and more subtly than we do it, but it was always there. In South Korea, kids are tested in elementary, middle and high school. How do I know? Teachers, principals, students and the Education Minister told me so. It was not a secret.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 14, 2011 2:16 AM
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