In a Jan. 5 guest column by Geoffrey Barrett, the argument is made that standards and testing do not improve results in schools. When Barrett states that “reform advocates claim that ‘tougher standards’ and test-based accountability increase student proficiency levels,” he is fundamentally misstating the issue.
Most people are intimately familiar with the standards and measurements they must meet every day in their jobs. Whether it’s how quickly a fast-food customer is served and satisfied, the number of cases an attorney wins or how many RBIs a pitcher gives up — we all know what it means to meet a standard.