A reality check on the importance of teacher expectations

As I’ve noted many times (see, for instance, here, here, and here), some corners in schooling today are marked by a bizarre enthusiasm for low expectations. This has fueled a push to eliminate graduation requirements, do away with advanced classes, eliminate gifted programs, and stop asking students to show their work. All of this was promoted by self-proclaimed agents of “equity” before the pandemic and has only gained momentum as school leaders “temper” their expectations in light of pandemic-fueled learning loss.

While going easy may seem like a genial accommodation after the disruptions of the past few years, it does students no favors — with the worst impacts on the most vulnerable children.