The Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) legislation in California mandated a full range of employment-related training and supportive services designed to provide welfare program applicants and recipients with the skills needed to acquire unsubsidized employment through education and training. Tests to assess the basic reading, mathematics,…

About half the states in the U.S., either by legislative or administrative action, have moved toward the imposition of statewide performance standards in their elementary and secondary schools. Typically these standards pertain to the basic skills--reading, mathematical computation, and written and oral expression. Almost all of these programs…