Chastened now by public opinion polls showing that most voters loathe both ideas, Republican leaders say they are eager to cooperate with Clinton on the arduous task of improving schools. But some are quite skeptical of some of his initiatives. Some lawmakers, along with some economists and college officials, say Clinton's package slights needy students who face the greatest obstacles to college. But Clinton contends it is a reasonable price to help many middle-class families who are struggling to afford college and are ever more burdened by tuition loans. Others are already asking tough questions about Clinton's proposal for new federal spending to recruit and train thousands of volunteers who would help students nationwide learn how to read on their own by the time they reach the fourth grade.
Standards are one of the most contentious issues in education.
Many states are busy trying to create, or revamp, them. Parents and business leaders are demanding it, and national leaders in many academic subjects have tried, with mixed success, to develop them. But what schools teach in a certain subject or grade level still varies widely among states and counties. Virtually every attempt to create national standards has been ignored or diluted, leaving the United States as one of the only industrialized nations in the world without specific national requirements for what students should know. Clinton contends that having voluntary national tests would help students and teachers know what to strive for in class, and would not create more federal intrusion into schools.