Dissent Magazine - Arguing The World - Web Letter: Taking Sides on Education Reform? An Exchange Between Joanne Barkan and Claire Robertson-Kraft -: "In a confusing twist, Robertson-Kraft ends up dismissing all the flaws in the reformers’ agenda—both substance and process: “[T]he real problem,” she writes, “is the polarization that this debate has caused among advocates….Now is not the time to point fingers, but to explore common ground and find ways to productively harness this [reform] energy.” No, that’s too simple. Robertson-Kraft’s criticisms of the reformers’ process, which I listed at the beginning of this response, are very real problems. Believing in a silver bullet, rolling out initiatives much too quickly, and using a top-down approach have contributed to policies that undermine learning, weaken public schools, and make teaching an undesirable profession.
Some ed reformers deflect criticism by admitting all the problems (yes, VAM is unreliable; yes, there’s too much testing; yes…) as if acknowledging flaws neutralizes them; then they press ahead with the same agenda. Robertson-Kraft does essentially this and then urges everyone to explore common ground. "
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