Mike Petrilli’s Two Front Testing War (And His Guerrilla Campaign Over Reading First)

Mike Petrilli responds in NRO to this earlier piece laying down the conservative marker against national testing. Petrilli makes the case that choice needs standards and standards need choice. That’s obviously a case I basically agree with. But seems that Petrilli’s essay is as much a defense of standards and testing in general as a push for national testing. Doesn’t that illustrate another problem here for the national testing boomlet? In today’s political climate national testing supporters might soon find themselves fighting a two front war. Perhaps the best defense is a good offense, but while they’re talking about nationalizing standards and testing, plenty of folks on the right and left are talking about walking today’s policies back…In any event, Petrilli (nom de guerre “The Prince”) has his hands full these days…