Bret's statement calling the city schools "one of the worst in the country" is clearly said out of ignorance. It sounds like the low expectations are his. Our students are highly capable. Our scores have shown growth. Instead of knocking the entire system, do something to help.

The only ones benefitting from standardized tests are the publishing companies that sell them. There are so many factors that influence student learning. Most of them are out of the contriol of the school. Nutrition, the amount of sleep a child gets, help on homework, attitudes toward education, adult supervision, television time, and internet availability are the tip of the iceberg of what it takes to prepare a brain for thinking. As an early childhood special educator, I have seen poor nutrition cause permenant brain damage. One single factor can ruin a childs chance for learning beyond a certain level. I won't even get started on the damage lead poisoning has caused. Families need to be made aware of how important their roles are in educating these precious gifts.

The money, instructional effort and time expended on preparing students for and putting them through standardized tests should be spent on developing, implementing and sustaining coherent curricula, based on high, systemwide expectations, with assessments that are organically related to what is taught and applied when logically called for in the course of instruction. Systemwide tests to determine if the curricula in use are effective should be far less intrusive and disruptive than they are now and their use should be primarily for teachers and administrators to assess the strengths and weaknesses of instruction at their respective schools, so as to make necessary improvements and reinforce areas of success.