ABSTRACT
The process of identity formation occurs throughout people's lives as they constantly internalize their cultural norms and values, but in the early years of life a more formal socialization process takes place. By socialization sociologists mean the process whereby people learn to be and to do what is expected of them. Measuring up, starts in the home as parents begin to socialize their children into the performance ethic and as children, in turn, develop a self that is accustomed to being evaluated, judged, and assessed. Later, in the schools, teachers reinforce to young people the importance of measured and quantified performance. The continuity of the measuring-up process for children and parents is assured by the public school system. From earliest infancy through toddlerhood, the child's life will become a testing ground, a staging area to assess how well the youngster will do in later life.
