Re : Education Week letter regarding MEAP -- amber
This is a very interesting article. Although I don't disagree in theory, as the former curriculum director for the Catholic Diocese in my area, new monetary awards motivated parents to pressure schools to offer the state standarized test. The award was really the first tool I had to leverage change in the classroom. In schools where teachers are autonomous, improvement or change is almost impossible. I believe that testing creates a negative attitude with staff and causes failing schools to lose heart and often give up. Yet somehow, things must change and if parents remain oblivious to the quality of their children's education, some one, and in our case the government, must take action.
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