Behind the "No Excuses" Mask: "Evidence Is Not Policy"
The "No Excuses" Reformers have two refrains that drive their claims about schools and teachers as well as their arguments for reform policy: "Poverty is not an excuse" and "Poverty is not destiny." But behind these mantras is the real message from these self-appointed reformers: "Evidence is not policy."
The "No Excuses" Reformers have remained committed to several alternatives to what they call the status quo: Teach for America (TFA), charter schools, and school choice. What do all three have in common?
A lack of evidence for pursuing any of them as policy.
