I've never met Peter Meyer, but I'm a fan. Several years ago he wrote this stellar Education Next article about the disappearance of Catholic schools, which had an enormous influence on my thinking and doing (this event and this report may have not happened were it not for that article). He's also written a significant number of other valuable pieces on a wide array of subjects.
In this post over at Ed Next's blog, Meyer discusses a very important issue that's getting entirely too little ink: the significant good done by the much-maligned NCLB. Rather than engaging in the national polemics about the law's intrusiveness, unintended consequences, and so forth, he provides examples of how the law helped transform (for the better) the outlook and behavior of his local school district.
When the administration released its reauthorization blueprint, I registered my objection to what I saw as backtracking on accountability. ??Meyer's post introduces real, on-the-ground examples of what this accountability framework has done for students, parents, and educators.
--Andy Smarick