Dive Brief:

• Famed author and poet Maya Angelou is among 120 writers and illustrators who signed a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that he rethink federal education policies focused on standardized testing.
• The signees say that too much focus on standardized tests is driving children away from reading.
• Angelou herself said Race to the Top feels too much like a "contest" and that current policies are more about what kids can memorize, not what they learned.

Dive Insight:

Angelou has been one of President Obama's biggest supporters, so her criticism is significant and falls in line with many of the biggest complaints regarding standardized testing. She wants children to have more freedom to read the classic works of writers like Tolstoy and Balzac, which she says help young people develop their sense of the world.