High remediation rates cast doubt on reforms
For a number of years now, we’ve heard how successful standardized testing dominated-reforms have been in places such as New York City and Florida. New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has been a leader of modern school reform over the past eight years, as is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who began changing the state’s public education system in 1999 and who still has big influence there. In fact, Klein was influenced by Bush’s pro-choice, test-driven reform. In both places standardized test scores were used to grade students, schools and now teachers. And in both places, officials pointed to a rise in those test scores as evidence of their success.
