By Barbara Miner

PALISADES, NY - President Clinton, 24 governors, 33 business leaders, 19 state superintendents and education commissioners, and 35 invited guests gathered at the National Education Summit at IBM headquarters in early October to discuss standards and plot the next stage in the reform of U.S. schools.

In an improvement over previous summits, representatives of education organizations were invited, ranging from the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers to the National Association of State School Boards. But no principals or teachers were allowed in, no students participated, and the only representative of a non-white advocacy organization was Hugh Price of the National Urban League.

After a day-and-a-half of discussion, conference participants dispersed, by and large convinced that they held the answer to ensuring that all children will reach high academic levels. Their answer, at its core, is twofold. First, to have every state adopt standards backed-up by standardized tests (a process well underway). Second, to set up a system of "rewards and consequences" for teachers, students, and schools based on those tests (a process that has only just begun and was the main conference topic).

Conference leaders were well aware that there is growing discontent among many teachers, students, and parents about their agenda - in particular the use of high-stakes tests as the guiding principal of education reform. (The term high-stakes tests refers to the use of a single test or battery of tests as the main and sometimes only determinant of whether a student is retained or is denied a high school diploma.) One of the clear purposes of the conference was to send a message that the discontent will not deter the governors and business leaders.