ABSTRACT
If people wanted to know how well American public schools are imparting academic knowledge to young people, the National Assessment of Educational Progress provides a pretty good answer. The educational reform movement is not, however, interested in how well schools are doing. The neoliberal, neoconservative reform agenda is about something different. Assessment's role in the neoeducational reform movement is connected to both the neoliberal agenda of free market capitalism and neoconservative agenda of Christian values. Additionally, the state, through its power of surveillance and specialized knowledge, has taken on a role of providing evaluative information to the public about what is good and right. The educational reform package promoted by the neo-agendas is large and complex, but assessment of student learning is a key element and one that is controlled by the government, and thus a means to control the institution of schooling. The neoconservative agenda is most concerned with controlling values, behavior, and knowledge in schools.
