Education's High-Stakes Gamble

By Ronald A. Wolk

Standards-based school reform--the strategy of choice in the United States--is on a collision course with reality.

Forty-nine states and a number of urban districts have set standards for what students should know and be able to do at various points in their school careers. Half the states hold schools accountable and apply sanctions to those whose students fail to meet the standards. At least a third--with more soon to follow--require students to score at designated levels on tests to get promoted and/or graduate.

This fall, for example, Boston adopted a new student-promotion policy designed to end social promotion. The policy spells out in detail "what courses students must take, what projects and papers they must complete, and what tests they must pass in order to be promoted or to graduate." The requirements are formidable even for kids who can read. New York state has toughened its already tough regents' exam, and students must pass it...