This paper reports on some early findings from an assessment of the impact of mathematics and science reforms in Chicago, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Miami, Florida, and El Paso, Texas. These reforms have been part of the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Reform program. Standards-based curriculum and instructional approaches with a constructivist orientation to teaching and learning have been adopted in the four sites. In early 1999, baseline data were examined for each of the four cities at the school level. This report focuses on some initial observations from El Paso, where it is apparent that standards-based instruction is often interpreted through the lens of the high stakes test used. One unintended outcome is the practice of teaching to the test, and in El Paso, this reality is being used to provide a vehicle for teachers and students to grapple with how to respond to students' low scoring items on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Some of the themes that are emerging from teachers' comments about standards-based reforms are: (1) teachers value hands-on problem-solving approaches to teaching mathematics and science; (2) teachers learn instructional strategies from engaging in hands-on staff development work; and (3) teachers can learn effective student problem-solving strategies from the students themselves. Concerns that remain in this study and the overall project are identifying the context of policies involved in the reform and discussing policy alignment as it relates to reform strategies. (SLD)