ABSTRACT
Educators engaged in the conventional teaching of the conventional subject matters enjoy a great luxury: they do not have to worry much about evaluation. To be sure, “accountability” is becoming a new favored word that encourages attention to scores in mathematics, reading, and other subjects. But consider the advantages enjoyed by those dealing with the traditional curriculum. No one doubts that reading, mathematics, history, and so on, are legitimate subjects worthy of study nor that students can accumulate some degree of knowledge and skill in these domains. No one questions that reasonably thoughtful and careful instruction will yield learning. Moreover, a vigorous testing industry with a long history supplies a diversity of options whenever we want to measure students’ aptitudes and the impact of instruction.
