The increased classroom application of the perspective that defines and applies a description of learning, thinking, and language use as "processes"--or even one inseparable process--has the potential to make the 1990s another exciting decade for education. Accruing theory that stresses process and integration recommends instruction that: crosses different subject matters; combines various kinds of thinking; and integrates the different language behaviors. The public's concern with academic achievement may have slowed real improvement in education. The result of the use of short-answer or selected-answer assessments has been a narrowing of the curriculum. Concern with more valid forms of assessment has led to the search for "alternative assessments." Portfolios have evolved in the language arts as individualized and personalized collections of students' achievements, but they do not solve the need for comparability and for educational accountability. Many state and local school districts are experimenting with performance assessments that emphasize process by having students read several texts to construct a response to a general problem. Authors and publishers of assessment and other educational materials have begun to produce textbooks and instructional materials that respond to these trends. Educators have a wider, richer selection of materials and ideas to match their theories. Such choices underline the excitement of education in the 1990s. (RS)