Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

The following lede paragraph below in italics appeared in a Hartford newspaper under the heading, “ State Working On New Rating System For Schools That Goes Beyond Test Scores .” “State officials are seeking to broaden the measurement of school performance, often criticized for over-reliance on test scores, to include the arts, civics, physical fitness, attendance, and even qualities such as student persistence and personal development.” Here is a re-write that accurately reflects both the intention and the outcome of the state’s effort to lower the measurement standard: “State officials, attempting to readjust federal standards concerning test measurements  so as to satisfy Connecticut’s reform averse teacher unions, are seeking to dilute the measurement of school performance in core subjects by including among them the arts, civics, physical fitness, attendance, and even qualities such as student persistence and personal development.” As my late father-in-...