[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9894-S9895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ASHCROFT:
  S. 1215. A bill to prohibit spending Federal education funds on 
national testing; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


                      National Testing Legislation

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
prohibit the Federal Government from developing and/or imposing new 
national individualized tests on students across the country.
  During his State of the Union Address this year, President Clinton 
announced his intentions to establish national tests for students in 
fourth grade reading and eighth grade mathematics. Without waiting for 
congressional authority, the Department of Education surged ahead and 
began development of uniform national tests, with plans to administer 
them starting in 1999. In August, the Department announced the award of 
a $13 million contract for its national testing initiative, and plans 
to spend an estimated $50.6 million under the contract from fiscal year 
1998 through fiscal year 2001, including $12.3 million for fiscal year 
1998.
  In response, Representative Bill Goodling, chairman of the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce, offered an amendment in the House which 
prohibits the expenditure of fiscal year 1998 funds for a new national 
testing program. While the Senate failed to consider fully and vote on 
the Goodling approach during its debate of the Labor-HHS appropriations 
bill, the House embraced the Goodling amendment, approving it by a 
resounding vote of 295 to 125.
  The House vote sends a clear and strong signal that Congress should 
prohibit Federal funds for national testing in education. In fact, the 
alliance of members from both sides of the political spectrum 
demonstrates the universal concern that the administration's proposal 
is besieged by problems. Here are just a few of the many reasons why 
national tests should be opposed:
  First, education experts such as Dr. Donald J. Senese, former 
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement during the 
Reagan administration, warn that national testing will lead to a 
national curriculum.
  Second, Lynne Cheney, former chairperson of the National Endowment 
for the Humanities, reminds us that Federal efforts to set standards 
and tests have been disastrous. She points to the politically correct 
Federal history standards and the English-language arts standards, 
which were such an ill-considered muddle that even the Clinton 
Department of Education cut off funding for them after having spent 
more than $1 million in taxpayer funds.
  Third, the proposed math test is steeped in the new, unproven whole 
math or fuzzy math philosophy, which encourages students to rely on 
calculators, discourages basic math skills, and has resulted in 
declines in math performance. For example, the median percentile 
computation scores on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills taken by 
more than 37,000 DODDS students one year after the Defense Department 
introduced whole math dropped 9 points for third graders, 12 for fourth 
graders, 11 for fifth graders, 10 for sixth graders, 10 for seventh 
graders, and 4 for eighth graders.
  Finally, Federal testing takes away local control and parental 
involvement. The Federal Government should not impose its will on 
school boards, parents, and teachers about the education of their 
children. Rather, education should be controlled by school boards in 
local communities, where parents have the greatest opportunity to be 
involved in the education of their child, by participating in the 
development of school curriculum and testing. After all, research 
confirms that parental involvement is the single most important element 
in educating our children.
  Mr. President, the big losers from national tests will be students, 
parents, teachers, and local school boards. Once Federal exams are in 
place, teachers and schools will teach the test. In other words, they 
will change their classes to fit the Federal tests, in order to get 
higher scores. Textbooks and instructional materials will follow suit, 
even in areas that attempt to avoid national tests. As a result, 
Washington bureaucrats who design the tests will shape local curriculum 
decisions. National control of curriculum is absolutely unacceptable to 
me. Once the Federal Government is using tests to shape curriculum, 
parental control through local school boards will be doomed.
  Who should control local education? I believe our schools should 
remain under the control of parents, teachers, and school boards, in 
cooperation with the States. The flawed whole math approach which 
brought major losses in computation test scores demonstrates the 
central threat in national control: When the bureaucrats make a 
mistake, everybody pays, from coast to coast.
  Parents are looking to Congress to protect their right and their 
ability to shape the education of their children. A national testing 
system would deprive parents of this vital opportunity. As Members of 
Congress, we can show our support for education by saying ``no'' to 
national testing and ``yes'' to parental control of their children's 
learning.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

[[Page S9895]]

                                S. 1215

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON NATIONAL TESTING.

       Part C of the General Education Provision Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 447. PROHIBITION ON NATIONAL TESTING.

       ``(a) General Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of Federal law, funds provided to the Department or 
     for an applicable program may not be used to develop, plan, 
     implement, or administer any national testing program.
       ``(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the 
     following:
       ``(1) The National Assessment of Educational Progress 
     carried out under section 411 of the National Education 
     Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010).
       ``(2) The Third International Mathematics and Science Study 
     (TIMSS).''.
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