A nice cover story in the NYT about Shael Polakow-Suransky, the new #2 in NYC.  I find is fascinating that someone who comes from a far-left-wing family and educational background (like myself) has embraced testing and accountability (like myself) (much better testing to be sure).  That's what happens to smart, intellectually honest people encounter the reality of big-city school systems:

Mr. Polakow-Suransky acknowledges that the tests are imperfect, but says they are a necessary measurement tool. "To put it very simply," he said, "how do you know that the kids are learning?"

So why does SPS get it, but Ravitch doesn't?  I suspect that, like Linda Darling-Hammond and others, she spends her time in ivory towers rather than in the trenches and therefore never sees how disconnected from reality her ideas are.

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New Schools No. 2 Wants More and Better Testing

By FERNANDA SANTOS

Published: December 13, 2010

www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/nyregion/14deputy.html