[summer]

capecodder, A couple of points here need to be made, in light of this info from Gov. Bush.

First, I think we can now agree that BOTH letters Gov Bush wrote, to USA Today in 1999, and to the NYT in 2002, were accurate. He did not change his position -- he kept the A+ plan as he originally proposed (WITH the assessments) and he kept the other two voucher programs as I thought (withOUT the assessments).

[summer]

And, second, I think you have to restate the question which keeps popping up with vouchers and federal money.

Before this email from Gov. Bush, the question was:

Will federal money for vouchers result in mandatory testing in private schools, and therreby change the nature of private schools?

But, now, I think a more accurate question may be this:

Will federal money for vouchers result in mandatory testing of some students in private schools -- and, does this necessarily change the nature of private schools?

Because the way it is implemented in FL, I think the answer is NO. Private schools are still private schools -- not all students are required to be tested; the scores are for the parents' use (not for the purpose of being published as public info), and, the private schools are NOT graded (like the public schools).