RAND Review

The cover story suggests that the new national agenda of high-stakes testing in elementary and secondary schools may be more of an academic hindrance than a help — unless the 50 states take the recommended steps to avert the potentially negative consequences. Another story examines the record of economic sanctions that have been imposed to deter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the story proposes that a combination of new procedures, new legislation, new staff, and new principles can “take the profit out of proliferation.” A third article charts a military success story in what many have dubbed formidable terrain: the mammoth logistics system of the U.S. Army. A commentary about the 2002 general election, which America will conduct in a wartime environment, offers ways for America to protect democracy itself. The news section highlights two policy propositions, one about the role of moral dialogues in building a global community, the other about a friendliness index for a lonely America. Other news items discuss school vouchers, charter schools, electric ships, emergency personnel, viable resources, Dutch rail passes, South Asian antiterrorism, Turkish priorities, electronic prescriptions, American obesity, and workers’ compensation.