The Future of Assessment

Winston Churchill, George Will, Harry Broudy, Gertrude Himmelfarb, Mario Cuomo, Hannah Arendt, Phil Jackson, Francis Schrag, Bennett Reimer, a diverse group to be sure. They have, however, a common ability: the trenchant use of the English language. One reads their writings not only for the content but for the presentation. These individuals are articulate, even elegant, writers who present their ideas in a concise, organized, and focused way. Bennett Reimer's ability to identify critical issues and to explain their importance, along with his original philosophical thinking, is of great importance to the profession. The present discussion cannot match Reimer's scholarship and his good sense; at best it only reinforces and develops one or more of the causes that Reimer has championed. Reimer is best known for his leadership in philosophy of music education; yet, like Dewey, Reimer has gone to considerable lengths to demonstrate what a coherent philosophy means for the many practices and levels of music-and even arts-education.