NATIONAL STANDARDS AND SCHOOL - IMPROVEMENT IN THE 1990S - ISSUES ANDPROMISE

National education standards are obviously a big step politically, but are they a big step educationally as well? Will schools really become better? Opinions among education's influentials are sharply divided. Empirical evidence is assembled to address the promise of standard set ting for school improvement. From the evidence, it is predicted that s tandards will not lead to a standardization of practice, stifle creati vity, or endanger minority students. The benefits from standard settin g are less easily predicted; they depend heavily on the quality of imp lementation. It is probable that some teachers, some schools, and perh aps even some whole school districts would make substantial progress.