My thanks to Dr. Carl Lapointe for his eloquent, incisive and sensible swan song. Although I have only met Dr. Lapointe a few times during the 30 plus years he devoted to the Glen Cove School System, I have known him by reputation for almost the entire period of his tenure. Our daughter Nancy was one of his fifth-grade students when he was new to the district in his early 20s. She now has a doctorate and is licensed as a clinical psychologist. While her progress also benefited from other excellent teachers, Dr. Lapointe was among the first to inspire her in the pursuit of self-realization with his confidence-raising sensitivity to her individual development.

My appreciation of the quality of this educator also stems primarily from an inside source. My wife, Dr. Sara Bodi, was for many years a member of the Department of Psychological Services in the Glen Cove Schools, retiring some years ago as chief psychologist. Possibly I acquired her high opinion of Carl's work through simple marital osmosis, but my main point is that Carl has put standardized testing through a sound analysis which I hope was read by many of our townsmen, particularly by members of the board of education and our superintendent. I stress the latter, because of the unfortunate direction projected by NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who has at different times proposed a substantial annual bonus to the principals of "successful" schools and terminating the principals of "failing" schools. I suspect he has brought the mentality of the world of commerce to the educational arena.

As a nation we have invited a degree of paranoia into our assessments of public education. In the early '80s, Dr. Ernest Boyer headed a commission on the state of American education. Its findings were summarized in the doomsday catch phrase, "a rising tide of mediocrity." That and comparisons with foreign educational systems and levels of performance increased the emphasis on standardized testing to which our last two presidents have added their amens on the national level. Newsday's periodic publication of the results of standardized tests in reading and math do nothing but color the map of Long Island school districts on a socioeconomic scale.

To judge the quality and efficacy of a school district on the basis of those tests is an exercise in the superficial. Our personal experience with our four children's educations in the Glen Cove system has been extremely positive, producing besides the psychologist, a physician, a physical therapist and an author-playwright. Each year Glen Cove sends many of its graduates on to fine institutions of higher education. Clearly the criteria for those admissions are met with, thanks to the skills of dedicated teachers and administrators who offer the same opportunities to all students, accompanied by home environments which are conducive to an attention to scholastics.

My appreciation of Carl Lapointe's essay is the greater for my having spent 30 years in the City University of New York system, retiring as provost and vice president for academic affairs from one of the senior colleges. Everyone is replaceable, but some less than others. It is a pity that so young a man with such valuable experiences and insights is gone from our system.