Ravitch Emerges As Foil To Duncan, Rhee Policies

The Washington City Paper (6/23, Goldstein) reports on former ED official Diane Ravitch's strong opposition to standardized testing being used for teacher evaluations. The piece particularly focuses on Ravitch's use of Twitter to express her views about education policy, noting that her tweets have "become a major front in her war against what advocates call 'school reform' and opponents like Ravitch sometimes label 'school privatization.'" Ravitch "has become a relevant figure in Washington's local debate: Somewhat improbably, this former education official from the first Bush administration has emerged as the most media-savvy progressive critic of the reform campaign embraced by everyone from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates." The piece continues to compare and contrast Ravitch with former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Among Ravitch's plaudits earned since emerging as a force in education policy is a NEA "Friend of Education" award.