Many commenters are also furious about alleged "lowering the bar". Remember than once we take away certain factors from grading, if we do it right, new factors will take their place - it's not just going to be all participation prizes. The idea is that the bar will be higher, but it will be positioned in a place where all students have to jump the same height to clear it.
The general idea is clear, but as for how that could be implemented, I don't know. I was hoping to find out in the article, but I was left terribly disappointed. The way it is written does make it sound like coaching baloney, which I think doesn't do the people trying to improve their education system any justice, it just makes it easy for them to be labeled social justice warriors.
I have numerous friends who are teachers and they all consistently say that the biggest problem is poor parenting. Primarily disengaged parents or parents who don’t value education.
Of course this is the elephant in the room because no politician is going to blame parents.
It seems to me that all the chat up-thread about schooling vouchers and parental choice are entirely missing the point. The children of engaged parents will probably do ok anyway. It’s the bad parents that are the problem.
But that should be the role of public schools. Teach children even if their parents don't care and don't challenge them to learn.