There is very little doubt that Texas has led the nation in public education reform over the past decade or so and that Texas has served as a model for other states and the nation in the advancement of standards and accountability. There is mounting evidence that the easier phases of reform are behind us in Texas, that some of the more intractable problems with student achievement have not been reached by reforms while serious backsliding is underway in others. It is evident that more of the same accountability and standards will not produce the results we want, and that a much more difficult phase of reform lies ahead.