Contributing to the debate on the nature of the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, this report discusses three proposals that would establish standards of performance for vocational education and analyzes experiences from performance standards implemented as part of other social and educational programs, such as the Job Training Partnership Act, Chapter 1, minimum competency testing, and merit pay for teachers. The proposals examined are those contained in H.R. 7 (passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May 1989), those from the U.S. Department of Education (introduced as H.R. 2329 and S. 1133), and those from the National Assessment of Vocational Education. A section on the goals of performance standards offers a rationale for such standards. A comparison of the three proposals shows that they differ on whether or not they would link program decisions and funding to standards: H.R. 7 would not; the proposal from the Department of Education would; and the proposal from the National Assessment of Vocational Education recommends linkage for postsecondary but not for directly secondary vocational education. Another section provides the states' records on adopting performance standards and gives details of the approaches taken by Missouri and Florida. The document also discusses potential problems from performance standards, issues that result from the nature of vocational education, critical decisions, and possible alternatives to performance standards. (CML)