Schools send parents to debt-collectors

I just read a story in a UK paper about private schools sending parents to debt-collectors for unpaid fees. I can 't find anything about this in the US so I don't know if it is happening here. Predictably several commentators are clutching their pearls but I must say that in general, I agree with the schools.

Another justification for standards-based education

Possibly the major challenge in education is that of people talking past one another, and by that I mean people using the same terms but meaning different things. The solution is of course to agree on terms and definitions before any discussion, but, well, you know ... My point today concerns standards-based education, ie defining a standard, preparing students to meet or to exceed that standard and then assessing whether they do, (ie pass / fail) or by how much (ie grades). This prompts the question, "what is a standard?".