Updated: August 2003
Testing - Federal
Issue Background
In his 1997 State of the Union Address, President Clinton proposed the idea of a national standardized test. Although championed by Congress and the press as a "voluntary" program that each state could choose to implement or reject, President Clinton declared, "every state must participate." HSLDA began the fight against national testing, a battle which would be waged off and on for the next six years.
Issue Description
The greatest danger of a national test is the federally approved curriculum it will inevitably require. University of Kansas professor John Poggio stated, "What gets tested is what will be taught." His statement encompasses the common concern among homeschools and private schools alike. If what Mr. Poggio says is true, then a national curriculum would be a definitive step toward centralized control of education and abrogation of its local governance.
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