Updated: Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Secretary of Education

Ugh. I have a post going up on vouchers soon. Here’s a passage I left out:

In a pointed exchange with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in which he asked if she supported “equal accountability for all schools that received federal funding, yes or no?” she could only repeat, “I support accountability.”

Were this exchange a multiple choice question on one of the standardized tests typically used for accountability purposes, she would have failed. Were she in a school where her classmates answered as she did, her school would be labeled a failing school and threatened with closure or takeover.

As it is, if she is confirmed, she will be rewarded for her glaring ineptitude and cavalier approach toward preparation. Unlike the students in the struggling schools she promises to hold accountable, she was apparently neither subject to incessant test prep sessions nor made to feel that much was at stake during her performance.

The stark difference between her low-stakes confirmation process, where she was shielded and showered with praise by the Republicans whose coffers she has filled, and the high-stakes testing experiences of neglected students whose schools have been starved of resources is not just ironic; it is unjust.

The takeaway is clear — money matters. You have it and you can get away with shoddy work, no matter the costs to others. If you don’t have it you will be blamed for your individual failings, held accountable.

So true.