Unfortunately, there is a struggle now going on in Congress that could seriously compromise its value. The standards would be descriptions of what students should know and be able to do at different ages or grade levels. The assessments would be tests or other assessment techniques designed to measure whether or not the new standards have been met.
Many companies produce scales, rulers and thermometers.
These bureaus establish standards for measurement and certify whether a given scale measures accurately according to the standard. Most important, in doing its work, it would take into account the standards met by students in other industrialized countries. But one of the requirements is that the test be fair. That's the kind of fairness the Administration was after. But fairness also has come to mean that tests should not have disparate impact on minority groups.