In the United States, as public demands for quality teachers have escalated, there has been a corresponding increase in national policy efforts to tie the standards of student success to teacher preparation, licensing, and evaluation. This conceptual paper examines how national authorities used specific policy tools to usurp the state's…

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 called for the U.S. Department of Education to prepare an Annual Performance Plan which links the Department's budget request with its Strategic Plan. To meet that directive, Volume 1 of the Department's Strategic Plan for 1999 is presented here. It includes objective performance plans and shows…

This paper argues that education in the United States will be increasingly intertwined with and impacted by federal expectations, requirements, and standards. The paper describes the impacts and effects of national goals and national assessment on K-12 and higher education. A review of state and federal responses to "A Nation at Risk"…

The National Education Standards and Improvement Council (NESIC) was established in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. One of NESIC's duties is to identify areas in which specific educational standards ought to be developed. Several complex issues arise in carrying out this duty, such as: the need for standards in such non-content areas as…

Discusses the standards movement, several standards categories (content, performance, equal-opportunity, and world-class), state and professional standard-setting activities, ongoing controversies, teacher participation opportunities, and need for public support. The New Standards and Equity 2000 projects provide linkages to standards-based reform…

This document, part of the Clinton Administration's "Reinventing Government" initiative involving a long-term, significant revamping of the federal bureaucracy, presents a comprehensive set of published customer service standards for the United States Government. It presents more than 1,500 standards representing commitments from more…

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)