Maybe we don't need to settle that question in order to start doing things that improve schools. By that I mean taking actions that demonstrably help children. For all the fuss and feathers of political rhetoric, very few of the ideas being touted in the public arena actually focus on improving the educational experience of children. Most of the debate is about and among adults. Applying this set of artificial standards or using that method of testing is mostly window-dressing.
Few programs do more than line the pockets of consultants and image-doctors.
One of the exceptions is the school-breakfast program. Sending children into class nourished produces measurably better learning. It doesn't matter why they arrive at school hungry, feeding them produces students better able to learn. That's what I call a basic concept. Yet this morning, many children sat in class hungry.