The use of ability testing for job selection has become widespread in the Federal Government and in the U.S. Employment Service, which assists private sector employers. The justification for the practice is based largely on research findings claiming a high level of validity for such tests in predicting job performance. More recently, such claims…

Much of the contention for establishing national educational standards rests on the assumption that such standards are required for a productive labor force and for economic productivity. However, this assumption has not been subjected to rigorous economic analysis. This paper briefly examines the evidence that does exist that links existing and…