In my town there are three swim schools. They cater to grade-
school children who have little or no experience in the water.
One school uses the "#1" method. That is, they start by
throwing the students, one by one, into the deep end of the
pool. Most students go straight to the bottom and are never
heard from again, but the ones who survive are competent
swimmers. The parents aren't very happy about the low
completion rate, but that's not important. What's important
is to have high standards.
Across town there is another school. This is a much better
school. For one thing, all the teachers are certified as
being "Highly Qualified". Not coincidentally, they are all
up to speed on the education literature. They use the "#2"
method, which involves a lot of peer instruction. That is,
they start by throwing the students into the deep end of the
pool _two at a time_.
The remaining school is even better. All of their teachers are
certified as being "Master Teachers", and we know how important
certifications are. This school uses a completely different
method, namely the "Bravo Sierra" method. That is, they let
the students splash around in a shallow wading pool all summer.
At the end of the course, they administer a comprehensive test
consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions about swimming-
related terminology. On the basis of this test, they certify
the students as being "competent" at swimming. This school
gets the strongest community support, partly because of the
relatively high completion rate, and because of the test. It
is important to have /accountability/ and this kind of testing
is our only means of imposing accountability on the schools
and teachers.