Reading Bill Makes Progress; Testing Doesn't

By David J. Hoff

Washington

Washington

Gridlock eased long enough for President Clinton's reading initiative to inch toward passage last week, but it kept a grip on his national testing plan.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee passed a reading bill that included much of what Mr. Clinton proposed earlier this year and attracted conditional Democratic support. Meanwhile, Congress extended the deadline for voting on the administration's national test plan until Nov. 7, and a legislative impasse on testing and other issues tied to annual appropriations bills continued. (See related story, p. 20.)