Ideas change everything

The billion-dollar problem in education

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Tanishia Lavette Williams |

TED-Ed Educator Talks

• February 2024

Standardized testing is deeply woven into the fabric of US education, but does it foster genuine learning? Educator Tanishia Lavette Williams sheds light on the racial biases, financial costs and limited effectiveness of this kind of testing — calling for a fundamental shift to prioritize teacher-led instruction and empower students.

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Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Standardized testing is deeply woven into the fabric of US education, but does it foster genuine learning? Educator Tanishia Lavette Williams sheds light on the racial biases, financial costs and limited effectiveness of this kind of testing — calling for a fundamental shift to prioritize teacher-led instruction and empower students.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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About the speaker

Tanishia Lavette Williams

Education stratification pioneer

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A voice for change, Tanishia Lavette Williams strives to do good work by leveraging her experience and research to push education toward living up to its promise, not just for some but for all.

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TED-Ed Educator Talks

The TED-Ed Educator Talks program provides a rigorous professional learning experience to a select group of distinguished educators throughout the world. The goal? To help them develop and share their ideas as TED-style talks.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.