Shaun, I really love this quote in your article, “Has the education system forgotten how diverse these students are or just how diverse people are in general?” Students need to be validated in other ways than standardized test scores not because it sounds like a “novel” idea but because students who are very gifted in many literary practices are not able to show it on a standardized test. I know I taught many exceptional, motivated, creative, and well-rounded students whose SAT and standardized test scores, while not bad, did not come close to revealing their ability in learning and producing from what they learned. If we look at the SAT and standardized scores as an indicator of “success” later in life then I can definitely tell you that my sister, who is an Attorney for a large medical practice that specializes in plastic surgery for reconstructive purposes, would probably be considered by most to be much more successful than me because of money and her title. My SAT score though, was much higher than hers because I always had the ability to score well on IQ type tests because of my individual makeup, but my high score was not going to earn my college degree for me or help me get a raise when I got my first job. I think we will always have these tests to measure the ability of a student, but schools need to realize that is all it shows, you can have all the ability in the world and never want to “learn” or do anything. Looking at the whole student more, by emphasizing the standard test scores much less and maybe relying on looking at a students’ body of work and getting a detailed account of the students’ experience in a class by a teacher who could keep a organized record of the students’ abilities not only on tests but through the teachers’ own observations of the students progress could help with a better picture of how “far” a student has come. I think teachers would breathe a sigh of relief as well that their jobs don’t depend on test scores and that the teacher is actually able to use their educational training to give a professional opinion on many aspects of the students strengths and weaknesses and how the student is learning to “think” and navigate their own literacy. On a side note, I know my strength is not being able to rap and I think I might have to consult the help of an outside teacher. Because I have no rhythm me trying to rap might actually damage the students beyond repair(hehe)!~Evan