See No Evil? George Stephanopoulis Ignores Controversy To Help Michelle Rhee Sell Her New Book
If someone unfamiliar with the state of education reform in this country were to watch this little lovefest with Stephanopoulis and Michelle Rhee, they might be left with the conclusion that she's a Democrat with a hunger to fix the schools, a radical reformer who independently decided she would take her mighty years of experience with DC Schools and carry the message to the masses.
Of course, that's exactly what Rhee wants, and Stephanopoulis delivered. No uncomfortable questions from George about the DC cheating scandal, her ties to the for-profit privatization movement, or what, exactly, is wrong with our public schools. Instead, we get this:
STEPHANOPOULOS: We've also seen that there's been a backlash, though, against how we assess how schools and teachers are doing. Just this week, teachers in Seattle saying we're not going to go forward with these standardized tests anymore. A lot of parents resisting it, as well.
RHEE: Yeah. Well, I think we've got to strike a balance. You don't want a situation where there's an overemphasis on testing, but at the same time, we had decades where there was no accountability whatsoever and our school system was graduating kids who didn't have basic skills and knowledge. They couldn't read and do math appropriately and at grade level, and that means they couldn't find appropriate jobs.
