This article makes a case that the concept of general education as it has emerged about 1800 is still of powerful historical consequences – irrespective of the fact that a joining idea of general education lacks any societal foundation. The survival of this idea – thus the second assumption of this paper – is simultaneously foiled by the implementation of standardized tests, by centering the underlying educational standards on a small range of subjects, and by the curricular interpretation of these standards.

Schlagworte
general education, educational standards, achievement tests