105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2846
AN ACT
To prohibit spending Federal education funds on
national testing without explicit and specific leg-
islation.
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2846
AN ACT
To prohibit spending Federal education funds on national
testing without explicit and specific legislation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) High State and local standards in reading,
mathematics, and other core academic subjects are
essential to the future well-being of elementary and
secondary education in this country.
(2) State and local control of education is the
hallmark of education in the United States.
(3) Each of the 50 States already utilizes nu-
merous tests to measure student achievement, in-
cluding State and commercially available assess-
ments. State assessments are based primarily upon
State and locally developed academic standards.
(4) Public Law 105–78, the Labor, Health and
Human Services and Education Appropriations Act,
1998, ensures that Federal funds may not be used
to field test, pilot test, implement, administer, or
distribute in any way, any federally sponsored na-
tional test in fiscal year 1998, requires the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to deter-
mine whether an equivalency scale can be developed
that would allow existing tests to be compared one
to another, and permits very limited test develop-
ment activities in fourth grade reading and eighth
grade mathematics in fiscal year 1998.
(5) There is no specific or explicit authority in
current Federal law authorizing the proposed feder-
ally sponsored national tests in fourth grade reading
and eighth grade mathematics.
(6) The decision of whether or not this country
implements, administers, disseminates, or otherwise
has federally sponsored national tests in fourth
grade reading and eighth grade mathematics or any
other subject, will be determined primarily through
the normal legislative process involving Congress and
the respective authorizing committees.
SEC. 
2. 
PROHIBITION 
ON 
FEDERALLY 
SPONSORED
TESTING.
Part C of the General Education Provisions Act is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 447. Prohibition on federally sponsored testing
‘‘(a) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of Federal law and, except as provided in
sections 305 through 311 of Public Law 105–78, the
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appro-
priations Act, 1998, funds provided to the Department of
Education or to an applicable program under this Act or
any other Act, may not be used to develop, plan, imple-
ment (including pilot testing or field testing), or admin-
ister any federally sponsored national test in reading,
mathematics, or any other subject that is not specifically
and explicitly provided for in authorizing legislation en-
acted into law.
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to
the Third International Math and Science Study or other
international comparative assessments developed under
authority of section 406(a)(6) of the National Education
Statistics Act of 1994, and administered to only a rep-
resentative sample of pupils in the United States and in
foreign nations.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives February 5,
1998.
Attest:
Clerk.