Policymakers Dig the Long Ball

Opening Day! On Opening Day 2021, I attempted to embody the spirit, if not the skill, of A. Bartlett Giamatti and engage in the real pastime of the true baseball fan, to wax poetic about baseball as the perfect metaphor for life. In that post, I recounted the central position that baseball, in all of itsContinue reading “Policymakers Dig the Long Ball”

Throwing the Switch on High School Reform

The rhetoric surrounding high school reform has gone off the rails and it’s time to get it back on track. Michael Petrilli caused quite the little kerfuffle earlier this month when he dared to use the dreaded “t-word” in a favorable way with regard to high schools in the United States. Apparently, he first utteredContinue reading “Throwing the Switch on High School Reform”

Build Back Better: School Accountability

Or Thirteen Thoughts on Making School Accountability Great Again Stop turning to assessment specialists for advice about school accountability Well, if you take my advice seriously this was a pretty short read. If you choose to read on, do so at your own risk. On a good day assessment specialists have a pretty good handleContinue reading “Build Back Better: School Accountability”

Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into

Things change. It’s inevitable. Sometimes the changes are big, sudden, and can’t be missed. Sometimes they are much more subtle, occurring gradually over a long period of time. Some changes are deliberately planned, years and “steps” in advance: first we’ll change A, then B, then C. Some changes are the unintended consequence of another change:Continue reading “Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into”