The results of the school and district assessments need to be made public so the schools and districts whose students do not score as well as their counterparts will be motivated by the spirit of competition to do better. Conversely, those schools and districts that do not respond positively to this competition will be sufficiently exposed as failures that they will be dismantled. These arguments have the appearance of validity. After all, competition is allegedly one reason why the United States has been so successful economically. Everybody loves a winner.
Nobody wants to be associated with a loser.
This validity begins to fade, however, when some questions are asked. If you think I am being an alarmist, I hope in the end you are correct. However, please consider the following arguments. Most of what we have learned from the violent acts perpetrated by students in school settings of late suggests the perpetrators considered themselves losers in school. All of us want schools to be safe and secure, even those who advocate for competition as a means to increase learning.