Standards Based Reforms In The United States Of America

The purpose of this paper was to introduce readers to the main aspects of standards-based reforms in the United States of America. Content analyses of policy documents, reports of studies on education reforms, standards' documents and curriculum frameworks, and verbal communications from officials of education agencies provided the main sources of information on standards-based reforms. The main aspects of standards-based reforms occurring during the three phases of developing standards at the national level, translating the national standards into state standards, and establishing assessment systems to support state standards are reported and discussed. The paper concludes by identifying key strengths and weaknesses of standards-based education, and predicting its prospects for further development. (Contains 2 tables.).