2Summary Standards-based reforms (SBR) have become widespread across the United States, particularly in the wake of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Although there is no universally accepted definition of SBR, most discussions of standards-based reform include some or all of the following features: academic expectations for students (the standards are often described as indicating “what students should know and be able to do”) alignment of the key elements of the educational system to promote attainment of these expectations, the use of assessments of student achievement to monitor performance, decentralization of responsibility for decisions relating to curriculum and instruction to schools, support and technical assistance to foster improvement of educational services, and accountability provisions that reward or sanction schools or students on the basis of measured performance. Each instance of SBR emphasizes certain components more than others. The SBR movement reflects a confluence of policy trends—in particular, a growing emphasis on using tests to monitor progress and hold schools accountable and a belief that school reforms are most likely to be effective when all components of the education system are designed to work in
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