SCIENCE AND JUDGMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARD-SETTING

Environmental regulation, like educational policy, crucially depends o n the establishment and enforcement of standards. One can observe nume rous similarities in the interplay of social, political, and technical issues in educational and environmental standard setting. In this art icle, I review several major types of environmental standards (design, performance, exposure, safety, and behavioral) and discuss their poin ts of contact with educational standards. In this article, I highlight areas of judgment common to both standard-setting processes and descr ibe the principal mechanisms that are used to improve the credibility of environmental standards. In conclusion, I suggest ways in which exp eriences gained in the environmental arena could usefully be extended to the educational arena.