Those who follow America’s debate about the merits of education reform might liken this last decade’s discourse to something like extreme motocross: verbal and political skids, set-ups, and crashes that end in fiery conflagration.

But over the few months, at least among reform advocates, there’s been a shift in tone: suddenly, there’s less emphasis on reckless speed and more emphasis on consensus.

Even when discussions reel towards hot-button issues like teacher tenure, standardized course standards, and the role of data in measuring student and teacher proficiency, many educators aligned with reform tenets are placing more value on avoiding combustion and, instead, talking about prudent implementation.  

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