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This article, written by Eric Sheninger (a high school principle), discusses the wide-spread standardization of our education system and how it is steadily destroying it. It talks about how the system of standardization is based off the century-old model focused on industrialization, which produces students that lack creativity, fear failure, and work to do only as they are told. The focus is on test scores, viewed as the only determinant of success. Students are leaving school unprepared for the world awaiting them. The solution according to Sheninger lies in intrinsical motivation. If students and teachers are motivated not by test scores or pay raises, but by creativity and innovation, students will find relevancy and meaning in their education.

This is a great piece for anyone interested in the controversy surrounding standardized tests. The article discusses a topic that is very sensitive to parents; testing their preschool year-old children with standardized tests in order to provide information that ranks their preschool among others in the D.C. area. The article includes quotes from concerned parents which adds an interesting narrative side to the piece.