The substance and impact of state-level reforms related to student standards are presented by: (1) providing information on the currrent state of educational reforms aimed at raising student standards; (2) summarizing research designed to identify linkages between higher standards and student outcomes; (3) exploring the strength of relationships between higher standards and student outcomes; (4) examining trends among indicators associated with higher student standards; and (5) discussing data and methods available to those concerned with the relationship of higher educational standards to student outcomes. The first of four chapters briefly describes the range of state initiatives designed to achieve higher student standards and the problems associated with assessing their impacts, as well as the data available for examining student outcomes. Chapter 2 discusses the great variety of reform activities that have occurred at the state level between 1983 and 1990 and places them in a historical context. Chapter 3 looks at research on trends in student outcomes and linkages to school reform such as student course-taking patterns, the proportion of school time devoted to academic subjects, student achievement, and high school completion rates. The last chapter discusses issues associated with studying the impact of state reforms and suggests some analytical strategies that might be used to describe linkages between reforms and student outcomes. Three appendixes provide the following information: (1) minimum high school graduation requirements for standard diplomas: 1980 and 1990; (2) an overview of researching reform and student outcomes using selected databases; and (3) standard error tables. (53 references) (MLF)