When I was in school, multiple-choice exams were the backbone of testing. Teachers relied on them because they were efficient: Scantron sheets could be graded quickly, objectively and consistently.

It’s easy to see why school choice is popular with parents: It enables them to make the educational arrangements that best convey the values, knowledge, and skills they wish their children to acquire.

Bailey Brown was 4 when her parents had her tested for New York’s gifted-and-talented program. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1990s, Brown had little understanding at the time why she was taking the ...