Harold O. Levy in Fox News: Averages Ensure Only Average Possibilities
It turns out that one size doesn’t fit all. In a new opinion piece for Fox News, our executive director describes how education’s focus on averages (such as with test scores) often relegates teachers to “teach to the middle” of the class. Levy writes:
There’s no question that schools must do everything possible to help below-average students struggling to master course material and in danger of dropping out. To borrow a slogan, no child should be left behind.
But ditching the averaging instinct also means helping students who excel. Just as no child should be left behind, no child should be abandoned ahead.
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Focusing on averages ensures that our nation will get only average results, and that students who could reach great heights of achievement never climb as high as their abilities can take them.