Standards and Testing Report Is Hailed, Criticized

By Robert Rothman

As the Congress and the National Education Goals Panel begin to take steps to implement the recommendations of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, educators and policymakers are hailing the council's report as a ringing endorsement of high national standards for student performance and a system of assessments tied to those standards.

But many caution that the council faces daunting political and technical hurdles in realizing its vision. The council proposed a substantial reliance on performance-based assessments, for example, even though such assessments are untested on a large scale.

And even if those hurdles can be overcome, analysts say, there is no guarantee that the new system would result in dramatic...