What's Next?

The article presents the comments of Marshall S. Smith, dean of School of Education at Stanford University, on the U.S. government's policies related to educational standards-based changes. Almost all American states now have standards for what students should know in core subjects, tests to measure student learning, and at least the beginnings of an accountability system to hold schools responsible for results. In the fall of 2001, Congress, in the No Child Left Behind Act, reaffirmed the basic structure of the state reforms, while simultaneously reducing state prerogatives, particularly in the area of accountability.