Reformers approached the gaps in achievement with noble intent, believing in educational achievement as a potential leveling force in society. But putting their faith in tests and focusing their energies on “raising scores” through curricular and managerial interventions has prevented us from having a deeper and more difficult discussion about the true causes of those gaps: systemic barriers rooted in race and poverty,8 which initiatives such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top only reinforce.
