Federal File

Historians and educators are weeks away from unveiling revisions to the voluntary national standards for U.S. and world history. But House members are already denouncing what they haven't yet seen.

Ninety lawmakers, all but four of them Republicans, have signed on as co-sponsors of a resolution that asks the House to disapprove of the proposed standards outlining what students in grades 5 through 12 should know about history. Though nonbinding, such resolutions tend to carry moral authority and political weight.

The Senate passed a similar resolution 99-1 in January 1995. But that was shortly after the oft-criticized original benchmarks were released, and long before two independent review panels of historians, educators, and policymakers concluded that with some rewriting the documents could--and should--be salvaged. (See Education...