O.T.A. Advises Caution in Move To National Test

By Robert Rothman

WASHINGTON--Citing the potential abuses and misuses of tests, the Congress's research arm last week raised caution flags in the current debate over creating a new national system of student assessments.

The Office of Technology Assessment, a nonpartisan analytical agency, expressed its concern at a hearing here on the recently released report of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, which called for national standards for student performance and a system of assessments to gauge performance against the standards.

The concerns were contained in a study by the agency on educational testing, a summary of which...