In making the case for charter schools, Malachi Bridges challenged the views of his teachers, as well as the rationale for standardized tests. Bridges doesn’t attend a charter school. He used to. Now he’s a senior at a traditional magnet public school, Metropolitan Business Academy Interdistrict Magnet High School on Water Street. Metro has engaged Bridges and his schoolmates this fall in an experiment measuring what they’ve learned. Building on similar experiments in New Yor

Federal and state laws require student take several standardized tests each year, but critics argue that these so-called high stakes tests aren't a reliable way to see how well students know certain subjects. Schools in New Haven are among many in Connecticut and throughout the region that's been giving its students a different kind of assessment -- one that's based on performance. Here's how it works: Students work throughout the year creating small projects that show what t