The great Louis Armstrong, in one of his most famous songs wrote, “I hear babies cry. I watch them grow.  They'll learn much more than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

What is a wonderful world for education? Will we ever know? 

From its inception, public education has had as one of its pillars: the notion of being that remedy by which inequality of opportunity and poverty can be reduced; thereby becoming the great equalizer.  Have we arrived at this point? 

I would argue that in the most ideal world, education would provide equity in access of resources, experience, and opportunity.  We live in a society where inequities could be regarded as societal norms, and the haves and have-nots will remain as they have been.

In this ideal world of education, the ways in which we evaluate and assess student learning would be slightly different.  We would make certain that we are assessing students in meaningful ways that would reveal valuable data about instruction.  We would also make certain that we are not over-assessing students and that teachers are active participants in the creation of such assessments.  I am a firm believer that when practicing teachers are engaged in every part of education, they are able to provide the practical and realistic perspective of what is realistic for students.