When studying our education system, is it problematic to compare standardized testing scores to international students? Does it make an "us vs. them"mentality in which we want others to fail for us to succeed, and is it a mistake to base our perceptions on the education system based on standardized tests? Is the solution to our public education problem to end private schools? Is it inherently bad when politicians divert funding from public schools and then point fingers at them for not doing well? These are important questions to think about when reading this week's materials.