MALVERN, Pa. -- Students and teachers cheered wildly as Sen. Barack Obama yesterday outlined his presidential campaign's plans to pay educators more and reduce reliance on standardized tests to evaluate academic performance.

The crowd of 1,000 at Great Valley High School in Chester County included about 300 students of voting age, who offered several standing ovations during a town hall-style meeting yesterday.

Most students withheld their applause, though, when he responded to a question from a senior whose film-school tuition will be $45,000 next year. She wanted to know what the Illinois Democrat would do as president to make college more affordable.

"Students have to be better consumers of higher education," Mr. Obama said. "If you talk to a lot of presidents of universities, they say, 'We've got to build a state-of-the-art gym with a gourmet cafeteria and get a big-screen TV in the student lounge, because that's what students have come to expect.

"Student fees and facilities have driven up costs a lot. When I was going to school, we knew the food was going to be bad, and the gym didn't have all the state-of-the-art Nautilus equipment," he said. "You didn't expect first-class facilities because you were there to learn."

Applause was sparse in the otherwise-enthusiastic student section of the audience, while older voters in the gymnasium cheered.

The crowd appeared united, though, on other issues, such as No Child Left Behind, the cornerstone of President Bush's education policy. It requires schools to regularly administer standardized tests and holds them responsible for the performance of all students, including those who have learning disabilities or who do not speak English fluently.

Both Mr. Obama and his Democratic primary rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, can count on applause when they criticize the law, particularly when they speak to students.

Among his other campaign promises yesterday, Mr. Obama said he would work to reduce health-care premiums by $2,500 per family, cut taxes by as much as $1,000 per family, eliminate income tax on Social Security payments for low-income seniors and improve the nation's infrastructure.

During a brief question-and-answer session, audience members grilled him on the health of the Social Security system and U.S. relations with China.

Here's how Mr. Obama responded:

• Social Security is not in crisis, but change is needed to ensure that future retirees will get as large a benefit as they are expecting. He proposes to fix the problem by raising the cap on the amount of income subject to payroll tax. Currently, only the first $97,000 of income is taxed.

• The United States is undermining its own economic power by borrowing from China, while allowing the Chinese to devalue American currency and export sub-par steel and other goods here.

Mr. Obama was also in Bucks County yesterday for a similar rally at Harry Truman High School in Levittown.