1998 Ron Paul 6:1
Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of
HR 2846, which forbids the use of federal
funds to develop or implement a National Test
without explicit authorization from Congress. Supporters of protecting the United States
Constitution from overreaching by the Executive
Branch should support this bill as the Administration’s
plan to develop and implement a
national education test without Congressional
authorization is a blatant violation of the constitutional
doctrine of separation of powers.
1998 Ron Paul 6:2
However, support for this bill should in no
way be interpreted to imply that Congress has
the power to authorize national testing. After
all, Congress, like the Executive and the Judicial
branches of government, must adhere to
the limitations on its power imposed by the
United States Constitution. Although many
seem to have forgotten this, in our system, the
limits set by the Constitution, rather than the
will of any particular Congress, determine the
legitimate authority of the United States Government.
1998 Ron Paul 6:3
The United States Constitution prohibits the
executive branch from developing and implementing
a national test, or any program dealing
with education. Education is not one of the
powers delegated to the Federal Government,
and, as the ninth and tenth amendment make
clear, the Federal Government can only act in
those areas where there is an explicit delegation
of power. Therefore, the Federal Government
has no legitimate authority to legislate in
the area of education. Rather, all matters concerning
education, including testing, remain
with those best able to educate children — individual
states, local communities, and, primarily,
parents.
1998 Ron Paul 6:4
Implementation of a national test also must
be opposed because of its primary effect: the
de facto creation of a national curriculum. Many supporters of a national testing try to
minimize this threat to local and parental sovereignty
by claiming the program would be
voluntary. However, these are many of the
same people who consider Goals 2000 a “voluntary”
program, despite the numerous times
Goals 2000 uses the terms “shall” and “must”
in describing state functions. Furthermore,
whether or not schools are directly ordered to
administer the tests, schools will face pressure
to do so as colleagues and employers inevitably
begin to use national tests as the standard
by which students are measure for college
entrance exams and entry-level jobs. At the
very least, schools would soon find federal,
and perhaps even state, funding conditioned
upon their “voluntary” participation in the national
testing program.
1998 Ron Paul 6:5
Educators will react to this pressure to ensure
students scored highly on the national
test by “teaching to the test” — that is, structuring
the curriculum so students learn those
subjects, and only those subjects covered by
the national tests. As University of Kansas
Professor John Poggio remarked in February
of last year, “What gets tested is what will be
taught.” Government bureaucrats would then
control the curriculum of every school in the
nation, and they would be able to alter curriculums
at will by altering the national test!
1998 Ron Paul 6:6
Private schools and home schools will be
affected as well, as performance on the national
tests becomes the standard by which
student performance is judged. Those in private
and home schools will face increasing
pressure to participate in national testing and
shape what is taught to fit the criteria of the
tests.
1998 Ron Paul 6:7
National testing is a backdoor means by
which the federal government can control the
curriculum of every school in the nation. Implementation
of national testing would be a
fatal blow to constitutional government and parental
control of education.
1998 Ron Paul 6:8
The Executive Branch has no constitutional
authority to implement and develop a national
test and the Congress has no authority to authorize
the test. I therefore urge my colleagues
to vote for H.R. 2846, which stops the Administration
from ultimately implementing national
tests and oppose all legislation authorizing the
creation of a national test. Instead, this Congress
should work to restore control over their
children’s education to the American people
by shutting down the federal education bureaucracy
and cutting taxes on America’s parents
so they may provide for the education of
their own children.
Notes:
1998 Ron Paul Chapter 6
The text of this chapter was inserted in CongressionalRecord as an extension of remarks and was not spoken on the House floor. In this chapter, Ron Paul continues a discussion begun in 1998 Ron Paul Chapter 5,
a few pages earlier in the Congressional Record.
1998 Ron Paul 6:3 ninth and tenth amendment probably should have been capitalized, and plural: Ninth and Tenth Amendments. cf.: North and South Dakota.
1998 Ron Paul 6:4 colleagues and employers possibly
should read, colleges and employers. Measure probably should read, measured.
