Although Alfie Kohn is a first-rate thinker, his article in the same "Educational Leadership" issue confuses adopting Total Quality Management methods with intelligently adapting them. Kohn wrestles too hard with the "worker/student" metaphor and wrongly disparages Deming's emphasis on data and performance. Schools can definitely benefit from…

The key to renewal is emphasis on results and the conditions favoring them. Short-term results are pivotal to improvement efforts, particularly for automobile plants and schools striving to apply Deming's TQM principles. Success depends on regular collaboration focused on well-defined, measurable student performance goals and frequent monitoring…