ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 concluded on a challenging note, pointing to initiatives in Britain under New Labour, where the priorities are ‘education, education, education’, and slogans like ‘standards not structures’ and ‘balancing pressure and support’ are in vogue. Attention was drawn to developments in the United States, where most of the powerful players have formed the Learning First Alliance, perhaps sensing that public education is at risk, and that the starting point to make it safe is an assessment of student achievement, and working backwards to determine what ought to be done, rather than commencing with an assumption that more resources will solve the problem. These are signs that reform on Track 2 is gathering momentum.
