In an op-ed piece appearing in today’s Washington Post, Diane Ravitch addresses how problematic accountability and choice school initiatives have become in the eight years since No Child Left Behind became the law of the land. Given that the state of Florida is continuing with measures in recently proposed legislation that ties teacher pay to student performance, it is time not only to recognize, as Ravitch has, the problems inherent in such connections, but to engage in dialogue to propose reforms that do not diminish the broad, comprehensive education that all children deserve. To focus on math and English to the exclusion of history, foreign language, the arts, and physical education – subjects that are not tested according to NCLB – is shortsighted, at best.
