Clinton Reaffirms Call For National Testing Of 4th- And 8th-Graders

President Clinton briefly halted his three-week vacation Wednesday to defend his plan for national education testing.

The proposal for national tests, to be promoted and paid for by the Education Department, is under assault from Republicans, who say the tests would do little to improve education and would be an unwarranted federal intrusion on what is historically a local responsibility. Legislation drafted by Rep. William F. Goodling, R-Pa., chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which could come to a vote in the House as early as today, would bar the Education Department from spending any money on the tests.

“There are certain basic things that all our children should know,” Clinton told about 80 teachers at Oak Bluffs Elementary School. “I think it would be a terrible mistake for people who are afraid our children can’t measure up or who have a misguided notion that somehow the federal government is trying to take over the direction of education in America to persuade members of Congress not to fund the tests. … That’s basically the issue that we’re going to be fighting out over the next few weeks.”

The tests Clinton envisions would be voluntary, with each state deciding whether its students would participate. The administration’s proposal would have a national test in reading for fourth-graders and in math for eighth-graders.

The tests, to be administered for the first time in 1999, would be prepared by a bipartisan board appointed by Congress, but the $22 million annual expense would be paid by the Education Department.

Goodling has said his concerns are mostly practical: He believes U.S. students already take lots of tests and that improving instruction is more important than another tool for monitoring performance.

But Clinton said Wednesday the medley of tests offered at the state level do not guarantee that each student is meeting “national standards,” and while many students might fall short at first, “setting a goal means you’re more likely to meet it than if you don’t set it.”