Beyond Rhetoric? Three Books and the Educational Standards Debate.

The article examines educational standards in the U.S. on the basis of three books. The three books "One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards," "National Standards in American Education: A Citizen's Guide" and "The Way We Were? The Myths and Realities of America's Student Achievement" which appeared at different points during the last decade, provide perspectives on the key issues about the need for standards and the creation of standards and accountability systems. Exploring common themes from the three books provides insight into the context for standard-based reforms.