Rep. William F. Goodling (R-Pa) is leading the fight against national tests (Ray Lustig/The Washington Post)

A selection of recent opinion pieces and editorials on national education testing from The Washington Post.

Height of Hypocrisy
September 17, 1997
If President Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley practiced what they preach, they'd set a "high standard" for students to qualify for federal college grants and loans. – Robert J. Samuelson

National Tests: A Yardstick to Learn By
September 15, 1997
We prefer no test to a bad test. But most of all, we prefer a good test – one with integrity, high standards, solid content and procedural safeguards to insulate it from politics and partisanship. – William J. Bennett and Chester E. Finn Jr.

National Tests: A Good Idea Going Wrong
Aug. 26, 1997
The Clinton administration is well on its way to destroying the credibility of its good idea. – Dianne Ravitch

More Testing Is No Solution
Aug. 13, 1997
If testing is the answer to our education problems, it would have solved them a long time ago. American students are tested, tested, tested, and the Clinton administration is proposing to test our children again. – Bill Goodling

Get On With Student Testing
Aug. 7, 1997
National testing for individual students of the type used by our trade competitors in Europe and Asia is a good idea. Families and schools need uniform measures with which to identify a child's academic weaknesses and plan improvements. – Editorial

A Yardstick for American Students
February 25, 1997
President Clinton's proposal for national testing makes sense. As former assistant secretaries of the Department of Education in the Reagan and Bush administrations, we urge Congress to support it. – Chester E. Finn Jr. and Diane Ravitch

So Much Talk About Better Education
February 16, 1997
Clinton has been seeking to improve schools and increase access to education throughout his public life. Along with his commitment to racial justice, the quest for better schools has been a hallmark of his career. He may have wavered on many other things, but never on these. But his reach exceeds his grasp. – David S. Broder