Written tests to evaluate students were a radical and controversial innovation when American educators began adopting them in the 1800s. Testing quickly became

Despite claims that written exams narrowed the curriculum, ruined children’s health, and turned teachers into automatons, once tests took root in American sch

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking history of 175 years of American education that brings the lessons of the past to bear on the dilemmas we face to

Discusses how school choice, misapplied standards of accountability, the No Child Left Behind mandate, and the use of a corporate model have all led to a declin

In response to public demand, federal legislation now requires testing of most students in the United States in reading and mathematics in grades three through