American education backing wrong horse? (Yes)

The claims

The movement for national standards and tests is based on these claims: (1) Our educational system is broken, as revealed by US students’ scores on international tests; (2) We must improve education to improve the economy; (3) The way to improve education is to have national standards and national tests that enforce the standards, and rate teachers on the basis of student performance (value-added measures). Each of these claims is unfounded.

Not true

(1) Our schools are not broken. The problem is poverty. Test scores of American students from middle-class homes who attend well-funde...