Diane Ravitch, December 9, 2011
NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARNSUMMIT
December 9, 2011
Diane Ravitch
My theme for today: Whosechildren have been left behind?
Let me tell you a little bitabout myself. For many years, I was a strong advocate of testing, accountability,and choice. I worked in three conservative think tanks where these ideas wereheld sacred. In 1998, I went to Albany, New York, to testify on behalf ofcharter legislation. At the time I was connected to the conservative ManhattanInstitute. I thought that testing would help diagnose the problems thatchildren had and enable teachers to identify their needs. I thought thatcharters would enroll the kids who had failed in regular public schools or whowere not well served by regular public schools. I thought that charters wouldcollaborate with the public schools.
In a book published last year,I said that I was wrong. I was wrong on every count. Testing should be