Standardized testing is a reality with which all educators must contend. Although the laws enforcing such assessments do so under the premise that students will thereby be assured an equal opportunity for academic success, they overlook a critical point--students are human beings with needs that reach beyond what is measured on a test. In this…

The process of instituting standards is well under way, thanks to mathematics teachers' efforts, the Bush Administration and governors' agreements about establishing national educational goals, and President Clinton's 1994 Goals 2000 legislation. There is no danger of a nationally imposed curriculum. States are using the standards process in…

Goals 2000 is the offspring of "A Nation at Risk," a 1983 teacher- and school-bashing report. IBM CEO Louis Gerstner named the problem and defined the solution, claiming the need for choice, competition, and technology, recasting students as human capital, and marketizing the teacher/community relationship. Tables summarize critics'…

Discusses issues related to standardized testing and a national art curriculum. Maintains that cultural diversity among students makes valid and fair assessment difficult. Argues that teachers should be trained in the use of authentic assessment methods. (CFR)