They argue that students should demonstrate whether they can organize their thoughts, analyze information, and formulate arguments. In short, tests need to determine whether students can apply the knowledge they have learned. But the experience of other countries like Germany, England, and Japan shows that this type of exam works. With proper training and monitoring, different people can learn to assess performance-based exams according to a common standard. Germany, like the United States, considers education mainly the responsibility of the individual states.
Achievement tests work best when they explicitly relate to curriculums.
The German experience shows that even when curriculum and assessment fall under local authority, a national examination system can still work. If we hold all U.S. schools to a shared standard, however, we will need to coordinate our efforts. Just as a national system of achievement testing need not entail a national curriculum, it need not entail a single test for everyone. We can construct multiple tests for different subjects. If employers started asking for transcripts and stressing academic achievement when hiring, scores on such tests could become a valuable credential for students entering college as well as the workplace.