ALBANY—A new report by The Public Policy Institute of New York State (PPI) argues that New York's tough new academic standards are important to both students and employers, and should be neither relaxed nor delayed.

The report, which comes amid mounting public pressure to relax and/or postpone the standards, is entitled Straight Talk About Higher Standards.

Presented in question-and-answer format, Straight Talk About Higher Standards recounts how policymakers concluded that tougher standards are necessary, describes how they are being phased in, and gives examples of knowledge and skills students will need to meet the new standards. Straight Talk About Higher Standards also:

• Disputes claims that schools have received too little time or money to implement standards.
• Explains how the state will test whether students meet standards, and explains the testing options being provided to school districts.
• Describes how new standards are affecting teachers, methods (such as "teaching to the test"), and the new Regents exams, and discusses how vocational education should incorporate the standards.
• Explains how the standards will lead to improvements in teaching and learning for struggling students who are at risk of not graduating in four years.
• Discusses how the standards will affect the performance of minority students and schools' expectations of those students.

The full report can be found at www.ppinys.org/reports/educ_qa.htm.