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that are controversial in local districts. The opportunity-to-learn com–
mission will wield a great deal of power, even though there is no federal
money to back up its recommendations. Although Secretary Riley always
takes pains to point out that the opportunity-to-learn standards will be
voluntary, it is predictable that lawsuits will qui ckly be filed to compel
districts to comply with the new federal standards, at their own expense.
The result wi ll be a federa l agency with the power to set "standards" for
spending and pedagogy but with no increase in the current federal con–
tribution of about seven percent of the costs of schooling.
The good news is that it is possible for the first time in many years
to speak about the value of standards. For the moment, everyone is
jumping on the standards bandwagon. However, at the first mention of
tests, the bandwagon comes to a grinding halt, and most of the passen–
gers flee. Those who flee tend to be educationists, for whom testing is
equated with bias and unequal outcomes; by contrast, when the Gallup
Poll asked whether there should be a national test, the public responds
with overwhelming enthusiasm. The public apparently has no problem
with real standards and real consequences. Parents seem to know that
students are not motivated to study when what they study doesn't count
for anything. Weare one of the few nations in the world that tests stu–
dents on their "ability" or their "aptitude," rather than on what they
have learned in school.
What gives me hope is that parents, business people, politicians, and
many educators know that our schools and our students are handicapped
by low standards. Nothing has brought this awareness home as dramati–
cally as the poor performance of American students on international
comparisons of mathematics and science. Despite efforts to discredit the
international tests and to discredit any other tests that aspire to objectiv–
ity or permit comparisons, there is genuine support for setting standards
and developing tests based on them . In the early stages of this movement,
1 predict, there will be broad support for setting national standards, so
long as they remain fairly vague and nonprescriptive. But as soon as any
attempt is made to establish tests tied to the new standards, watch for
opposition . And as soon as any suggestion is made that student perfor–
mance on tests should affect entry to college or employment, the heavy
artillery will be rolled out. We are in one of those rare historical mo–
ments where there is a chance to do things differently; there will be
many voices raised to make sure that it doesn't happen .
