Standards for Schools Essential, Too, Lawmakers Say

By Robert Rothman

WASHINGTON--National standards for schools and school systems are essential if students are to attain new performance standards set forth in a recent report, members of a House subcommittee said here last week.

Speaking during the first of three scheduled hearings on the report of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, subcommittee members indicated that they intend to scrutinize the report closely before considering legislation to implement its recommendations.

The council late last month recommended national standards and a national system of assessments to measure student performance against the standards. (See Education Week. Jan. 29, 1992.) In...