It's astounding the number of hobbyhorses people run off on when you talk about education (and, to note, I agree with the author's point about how math teachers need to know and be confident in math).  Unions, pay, lefties -- all the usual suspects.

My dad spent a career in education.  He thought that standardized tests measured the ability to take standardized tests.  And yes, he started out in the pre-Hall-Dennis days with Grade 13 departmentals (which he happily took on marking for the extra pay and three weeks in Toronto with afternoons in the Brunswick...).  So, the pendulum has swung, and we're back to standardized tests...and a lot of pearl-clutching at the outcomes (when, if you look at international comparisons, like the PISA tests, we're right up there with the small, homogenous, Asian countries).  Oh, and in this area, parents freaking out because they can't teach their kids discovery math (and stereotypes of what that actually is).

I bet it's better than you think it is.