Merrow says Klein was the architect of current corporate reform

In Sunday's Daily News, John Merrow claims that, "Love or loathe him, Joel Klein is the person most responsible for shaping U.S. schools today." Improbable as it may sound, Merrow is probably right. Corporate lawyer Klein, now hustling school district contracts for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., was a totally unqualified, yet major player in the disaster they now call public school reform. The fawning Merrow even credits Klein with nurturing Michelle Rhee.

His critics — and there are many — discount the academic achievements Klein boasted about, particularly after the flabby nature of state tests was exposed and scores were recalibrated, leading to significantly lower gains for many public schools on his watch. They say he was obsessed with test scores and didn't pay enough attention to genuine learning.