ABSTRACT
This past summer the legislature in my home state of North Carolina passed into law the so-called “Excellent Schools Act.” While this legislation will certainly affect the lives of students and teachers here, the significance of what has been enacted goes well beyond the borders of North Carolina. In many ways the legislation reflects and crystallizes much of the thinking as well as the public discourse on education in this country at this time. Certainly the act is of a piece with the White House’s current push to mandate national tests to measure educational standards in our public schools. The North Carolina legislation included the following items:
• Increased attention to state-mandated performance standards throughout K-12 schooling.
