I don't know Jackie Bennett, who writes for our sister-blog Edwize, but I probably should.  Here's a lovely mix of elegance and eloquence:

Now here is the problem with focusing on outputs: there’s really no such thing. I mean, yes, there is such a thing as “outputs” (though the word is repugnant to me when applied to educating children), but there is no such thing as focusing on them. After all, how long can you look at a test score? Sooner or later, you have to look at the things that you think might influence that test score, and that’s inputs — that is, the nature of instruction and the quality of conditions at the school.Since there’s no escaping inputs, what outputists really do is simply replace one set of inputs with another.

Read the whole enchilada here.