Education policymakers today insist that teachers, principals and schools must be “held accountable.” You would assume, then, that they would take every opportunity to ensure that all students who are educated with public money take the all-important standardized tests that are used as the chief accountability metric and that can determine how much educators are paid and employed.
Well, think again.
The discrepancy between what some reformers say and what they do can been in stark relief right now in Florida, where the test-based accountability movement started under former Gov. Jeb Bush. The legislature is about to vote on a measure that would, if passed, make it easier for children to get Florida’s version of vouchers through what is called the Tax Credit Scholarship Program — but which would continue the practice of not holding voucher students accountable for standardized test scores in the same way as public school students.
