Diane Ravitch says:

[The] data-driven focus [of Houston Independent School District’s Apollo Program] contains the seed of its own destruction. Talking about tests all the time, doing test prep all the time, making kids take tests that they are not relevant to them and that they are not prepared for. . . .

I was not surprised by the emotional and physical reactions of these kids as staff kept trying to get them and keep them in school. The kids keep saying that the learning is irrelevant. They keep saying that school is boring. They keep saying that no one understands them and their plight. Telling them, “No Excuses!” is disrespectful.

via http://dianeravitch.net/2013/05/17/pbs-in-houston-watch-the-faces-of-the-students