We don't want to imply that learning standards and assessment are, by their very nature, bad. Standards and assessment that have been constructed with wide participation and are thoughtful and reasonable for students to achieve can be a way to address class, race/ethnicity, and gender inequities of expectations, resources,and targeted assistance. The issue here is one of who should define such standards, what should be multiple ways of assessing such learning, what should be the consequences for students, teachers, and schools, and just as important, what flexibility,freedom, and authority should be given to classrooms and schools to be accountable? After all, it is hard to be accountable for what one has no control over (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Elmore and Rothman, 1999; Glickman, 1999, 200012001 ).