The Pitting of High Achievement Against High Equity Policies

Abstract

An article called "Our achievement Gap Mania" penned by Frederick M Hess from the conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation (National Affiars, Fall 2011) created outrage amongst Hess's erstwhile colleagues. It argued that the US obsession with closing the achievement gap had cost dearly in terms of programs and policies that meet the needs of high performing students. This article takes a look at some of the debate - of most relevance to the Australian context