The root of the AALE’s peril will be easily comprehended by conservatives, the folks most acutely aware of the dangers of bigness, particularly bigness in government. Bigness creates distance, encourages simplification, and breeds a self-confidence that can lead to a loss of bearings, even for the well-meaning, and even for conservatives.

This entire syndrome now seems to be playing out in the Department of Education’s one-size-fits-all approach to assessment that conflates modalities useful for K-12 and technical education with those appropriate to a more fragile flower, liberal learning. Sadder still has been the department’s failure, so far at least, to recognize the importance of preserving one of the very few higher education groups that unashamedly embraces tradition instead of subverting it. From the heights it is easy to lose sight of the small but good.

Up to now, the AALE’s ordeal has been presided over by the department’s middle management. Secretary Margaret Spellings, who surely wants to do the right thing, has yet to act. She should do so by signing the AALE’s reprieve, not its death warrant. Conservatives care.