Explores the two major pieces of federal legislation that make up the foundation for a national testing initiative: Goals 2000 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Discusses the content of each of the legislative initiatives, how they interrelate, and who supports them. Suggests that the national testing movement has metamorphosed into…

The first of Goals 2000, "all children in America will start school ready to learn," has been problematic to measure because of the ambiguity of "all,""start,""ready," and "learn." A more measurable and appropriate statement would be "all primary schools will be able to provide developmentally…

Controversy surrounds the recently released voluntary national standards for U.S. history and world history. At the center of the debate is the issue of how history should be portrayed. Directions for ordering copies of the history standards and sample passages from the standards guidebooks are provided in sidebars to the article. (MLF)

Discusses the significance of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act for theater and other arts educators. Presents comments of several theater education teachers, leaders, and arts advocates regarding the enactment of Goals 2000. (RS)

Presents an interview with the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's executive director Barbara Salisbury Wills. Discusses her interaction with the Goals 2000 Commission, development of the "National Standards for Arts Education," getting parents involved in theater education programs, working with state representatives, and…

Examines controversies over national and state standard setting (Goals 2000, outcome-based education) involving conservative citizen groups. Makes recommendations for widening public participation in educational policy-making and aligning public engagement with standards-based reform. (SK)

Asks whether standards in the arts are necessary. Presents the standards as set forth in the Goals 2000 Act, and provides some commentary on how to achieve them. States that educational reform, national standards, artists and educators working together, teacher education, and teaching leadership are necessary to make the standards work. (PA)

In this excerpt from her new book, "National Standards in American Education: A Citizen's Guide," Diane Ravitch argues that there are steps local school boards, parents, and communities can take to implement educational reform and high academic standards. (MLF)

Teachers, principals, school systems, parents, and textbook publishers have been blamed for students' failure to meet tougher standards. Instead, expectations for achieving unreasonable state and Goals 2000 standards should be critically examined. Testing state legislators, school board members, administrators, and teachers might illuminate the…

Presents an allegory based on the development and dissemination of the National Geography Standards. Uses the allegory to introduce a series of articles dealing with the Standards. Suggests that geography teachers acquire and use the Standards, entitled "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards." (CFR)

This report provides updated information on major national activities related to the development and assessment of educational outcomes of students with disabilities who are receiving special education services. The report reviews major initiatives in the areas of the national education goals (Goals 2000), standards, and national testing. The…

This paper provides an analysis of inclusion as it relates to national goals, national standards, and national tests for students with disabilities. Concerning the six national education goals specified in Goals 2000, the paper finds that the primary data collection programs used to document progress toward the goals exclude 40 to 50 percent of…

Comments on remarks by A. Graham Down, president of the Council for Basic Education, about integrating arts education into the curriculum. Concludes that, when the arts are channeled into the mainstream and made part and parcel of everything, arts education becomes dangerously confused. (CFR)

Includes "On the Common Core of Learning" (Kennedy); "Constitutional Implications of National Curriculum Standards" (Arons); "Arguments against National Performance Standards" (Fulk, Mantzicopoulos, Hirth); and "The Painful Lessons of Introducing the National Curriculum in England" (Foster). (SK)

This document records the written and oral testimony of witnesses at a hearing on the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The act has three main components: (1) to provide grants to states and local schools for comprehensive educational reform; (2) to promote the establishment of voluntary national education standards to assist states and local…