States, Businesses Urged To Recommit to School Reform

By Mark Pitsch

Lincoln, Neb.

Acknowledging that the Goals 2000: Educate America Act "has some political baggage," a senior Education Department official last week urged state officials and members of the business community to redouble their efforts on behalf of the standards-based school-reform strategy and of school reform in general.

"Nobody can provide any guarantees at this point as to what the future of Goals 2000 is," said Michael Cohen, a senior adviser to Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. "We're all in a period of watching and waiting...