We don't deny the necessity of accountability and the need for targeted support for teachers to address the needs of their students by learning how to fill their own gaps in teaching and learning. In schools, the continuously developing skills and knowledge of  is the goal.  Teachers need to be learning about the standards and content, the assessments, their students. At the nexus of these, teachers do their work. Standards are important and national standards in a country like ours, particularly with our overwhelming capacity for mobility and a shrinking world, is a good thing.  So when you come right down to it, it is the assessments and how they are used that is the heart of the issue. Read more...