All the tests in the world will not close the achievement gap

The Times prints Judy Rabin's excellent letter:

To the Editor:

All the tests in the world will not close the achievement gap. When politicians and business leaders stop blaming the schools and start focusing on the real reasons for the achievement gap — the economic gap, the health care gap and the racial gap — poor and minority students may have a fighting chance.

Until then, the more than $2 billion testing industry will continue to reap a bonanza as our nation falls further and further into the educational abyss.