ABSTRACT
Standards (US) and the National Curriculum (UK) are designed to help teachers and administrators to identify important instructional strategies and to guide the allocation of resources. As the following sections illustrate, the genesis of the National Curriculum and the various content standards in the United States are similar, as are many of their intended goals. Key differences, however, exist in the degree to which content standards guide, rather than control, teaching and learning. The specific focus of this overview, of the origins and experiences of the two countries in implementing new curriculum and content standards, is on ways in which the changes are impacting on students with disabilities.
