By Nancy Kaffer

When it comes to education reform, standardized test scores are as versatile as duct tape. 

A beloved accountability measure for policymakers, in Michigan, students’ standardized test scores have determined which schools are slated for closure or added to a reform district, whether a superintendent should be replaced by an appointed CEO, how a teacher’s job should be evaluated, which districts need more oversight — and starting next year, they’ll play a role in determining which third graders become fourth graders.

This is what we call “mission creep.”