Which way do we go?

In one of the most surprising developments in years, Americans are rejecting the use of standardized tests as a means to improve education, and they are not convinced that new rigorous education standards will help. These are some of the findings in the 45th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Results come in a time of unsettledness in the American education franchise. Recent major reform efforts -- No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and the Common Core State Standards -- face uncertain futures even as the poll lays bare an important rift between policy makers and ordinary citizens and parents.