A major message that I heard in Ravitch's interview and Louis CK's commentary on CCSS is that standardized assessments being used to grade teachers or a school are greatly hurting the ability for effective schooling.  I believe that the image below is a proper representation of the most important role of assessment:

But as Ravitch and Louis CK point out, assessment is instead being used to punish teachers and schools.

I believe that the CCSS come from a place of good intention- to ensure that all students are being held to high standards and are being prepared for college, life, and a career.  It has me wondering, what are other ways that we can assess teachers and schools? The reality is that while most teachers strive for success, many of us are still learning and need critical feedback expressing where and how improvement needs to happen.  So if a teacher or a student fails an assessment, how do we plan instruction to support that person?   This entire talk of "teacher accountability" for me translates to teacher blame for not undoing an entire system that sets students up for failure.

We've talked about how frustrating it us to work with high schoolers who seem to have insufficient content knowledge. There is research arguing that holding students back can be harmful to their development. (http://www.du.edu/marsicoinstitute/policy/Does_Retention_Help_Struggling_Learners_No.pdf) So what do we do when a student hasn't mastered grade level standards? What do we do then, to address learning deficits while keeping them on track?