Published: April 1, 2000

Alternative Answer

One of the sad ironies of reform is that it often creates as many problems as it solves. And so it seems with the current standards movement.

As several articles in this special issue show, states need to revisit the academic standards they've set and the accountability systems they've created. Most have gone overboard, demanding that schools cover an enormous—if not impossible—body of arbitrarily chosen content. At the same time, they've turned to crude standardized tests as the ultimate measure of school and student performance. These faulty reform instruments may bring down the standards movement. But perhaps worse, they threaten the very schools that are having the greatest success with our neediest students: the nation's alternative schools. These programs have lower dropout rates and higher attendance rates than most traditional schools with similar enrollments. What's more, they are sending higher percentages of their students on to college. The irony is that alternative schools are doing exactly what standards-setters aspire to do: They are changing—improving—the...