"Please do your best," I say. "Please don't make me look bad." That one is their favorite -- and why shouldn't it be? It empowers them as do few aspects of their education.

If we believe that education is "the next great civil rights issue of our time," then we ought to be enabling the 'human capital' now in the profession to succeed (while weeding out those who, after help, cannot cut the mustard).

How do we make sure that testing is perceived as informative and challenging, rather than as a series of anxiety-filled experiences that disrupt real learning?

SEATTLE — A simple writing exercise can relieve students of test anxiety and may help them get better scores than their less anxious classmates,...