ASKED WHY? THE PENN MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT RECENTLY ANNOUNCED TRADITION SPELLING TESTS WILL SOON BE A THING OF THE PAST. PROBABLY WHAT A LOT OF US REMEMBER. SO PRETEST PRACTICE THE WORDS ALL WEEK.

This month, I went to school for parent-teacher conferences. My second-grader’s self-evaluation form listed several categories: “I follow directions,” “I understand math,” “I like to read,” and one we ...