The vision of the Goals 2000 program for educational improvement leads to the fundamental question of what we want students to know. School districts throughout the country are beginning to grapple with this question, and some national efforts have been made to help them. The National Council on Education Standards and Testing has recommended development of voluntary national standards for achievement, and the Department of Education is supporting projects to develop standards in seven areas. Examples are given of standards that have been developed for mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) and the arts. Final standards for each project may not be completed until 1995 or 1996, but communities need not wait to involve themselves in the standard-setting discussions. Every state, community, school, and home should be addressing what we want students to know and be able to do, and what can be done to help students meet high standards. Contains a list of 28 resources for further information. (SLD)