Opinions about the new emphasis on accountability
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has gathered a range of opinions about testing and accountability in the Georgia schools. I think the articles are pretty balanced, although the unintended consequences of high-stakes testing are over-dramatized as usual.
For example, I was dismayed to read that Betty Robinson, a principal at Simonton (Georgia) Elementary School, committed suicide in April, but I was also surprised by the decision of the AJC to publish an opinion by a schoolteacher that suggests Ms. Robinson took her life because of high-stakes testing. I don't begrudge the teacher in question his grief and his concern. I do, however, question the judgment of the AJC editors, who apparently decided that the claim that Ms. Robinson committed suicide "at least in part because of the stressful demands placed on her to improve her school's test scores" is an appropriate assessment of the impact of standardized testing. There are plenty of valid criticisms to be made of the high-stakes testing programs, some of which are badly-planned and too-hastily implemented, but the story of Ms. Robinson is too profound to be reduced to just another reason to oppose standardized tests. What's more, it leaves anyone who defends standardized testing open to the accusation of being callous if they decide Ms. Robinson's death should not be taken into account when assessing the testing programs.