Only with such information in hand can parents make wise choices among schools. Only with such information in hand can parents and legislators appraise how well their school systems are doing. They give the federal government no new powers. The test results, in fact, will actually enhance local control by empowering consumers, policy makers and professionals to know what actions need to be taken locally to improve education. Math is math, whether it's taught in Oregon or South Carolina, and the global economy in which today's youngsters will live and work expects them to meet world standards, not just those of Portland or Charleston.
Information is power.
And gathering and dispensing good information is one of the things that the federal government does very well. So important is national testing that it must be safeguarded from politicization, a temptation that is sure to arise if the student results are as bleak as everyone expects. Fortunately, such an entity, called the National Assessment Governing Board, already exists. That board, however, has been weakened by recent legislation and turned into something more like an advisory committee to consider decisions that are actually made by political appointees. The White House's current plan to give control of national testing to the Department of Education would, we think, be a big mistake.