school. Let me be clear here. Appropriate tests are an important tool to understand the quality of the education students are receiving; but without the crucial obligation on the part of the school of seeing that all students in fact graduate from high school, test results can obscure the real picture as to whether or not a school district is providing all of its students with the high quality education required today. That is why it is important that this Forum insist that there be uniform standards by which to judge a government’s actions to meet its responsibility for educating its children. Outcomes are important. In the United States, high school comparative graduation rates and tests that measure achievement are crucial standards. Whether or not those would be appropriate standards in other countries with different economies, it is clear that there must be standards by which government’s actions may be evaluated to see that its children are adequately educated in order to participate in the economic life of the society. Education has never been more important than it is today, just as the responsibility of government with respect to education has never been more critical.