The "Principles and Indicators for Student Assessment Systems" of the National Forum on Assessment, 1995, proposes a view of testing and assessment in elementary and secondary education that challenges the basic concepts and practices underlying the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" of the American Educational Research Association and associated organizations. The "Standards," as they exist, are inadequate to the task of stopping the harmful social consequences of traditional standardized testing, but the "Principles" are constructed to place learning at the center of assessment. The basic model of educational testing addressed by the "Standards" relies on norm-referencing and on using multiple-choice or short-answer methods. Rather than enhancing access to education in the United States, the dominant forms of testing have limited access. In addition, they rely on outmoded psychological science. The seven "Principles" represent an agreement that traditional testing practices must change in the direction of becoming helpful for student learning. They replace the norm-referenced, multiple-choice short answer test with a complex of classroom-based assessments revolving around observation, documentation, and evaluation. They also assert that decisions about students must not be made on the basis of any single assessment. If the "Principles" were adopted in practice, the "Standards" would have to encourage more restrained use of tests and emphasize that assessment become compatible with what is known about human learning and development. (Contains 61 references.) (SLD)