ABSTRACT
As we approach the twenty-first century, more students than ever before in the United States need to be educated to higher levels, so that they can: • participate in the American democratic system • develop strong moral and ethical values and the ability to reach their potential • compete successfully in the increasingly technological job market. Many people in the United States have come to recognise that early efforts with reform of public education at the start of the 1980s were not successful enough. The impetus for these attempts was primarily economic. People from all walks of society concluded that the United States was on the verge of being displaced as a major player in the world economy. The belief that it was falling behind other industrialised powers in development, productivity and quality was a theme echoed in many national reports during the 1980s, including the Carnegie Forum, Education Commission of the States, the National Commission on Excellence in Education, the National Governors Association, the National Science Board and others. It did not take reformers long to draw the connection between this economic impetus and the educational system. Many people drew the conclusion that it would be up to schooling and a successful system of education to restore the economic preeminence of the United States.
