A Nation at Risk

Nicolae Borota

Foundations of Curriculum

Dr. Jay Dugan

July 2, 2009

In August of 1981, the National Commission on Excellence in Education was chartered to “review and synthesize the data and scholarly literature on the quality of learning and teaching in the nation's schools, colleges, and universities, both public and private, with special concern for the educational experience of teen-age youth” (U.S. Department of Education, 1983a). Their report, was entitled “A Nation at Risk.”

The 1983 report included several specific indicators of risk such as:

• About 13 percent of all 17-year-olds in the United States can be considered functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy among minority youth may have run as high as 40 percent.

• Scores consistently declined in verbal, mathematics, physics, and English subjects as measured by the College Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT).

• Nearly 40 percent of 17-year-olds cannot draw inferences from written material; only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one-third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps.

• Remedial mathematics courses in public 4-year colleges increased by 72 percent and now constitute one-quarter of all mathematics courses taught in those institutions.

ASSESSMENT REPORT

The report’s findings and recommendations (U.S. Dept. Ed., 1983d, 1983x) covered four important aspects of the educational process: (1) content; (2) expectations; (3) time; and (4) teaching.

They gave recommendations in each of the four areas, which they felt would help get the United States from out of a feeling of being ‘A Nation at Risk’.

In the area of content, they recommended that State and local high school graduation requirements be strengthened and that, at a minimum, all students seeking a diploma be required to lay the foundations in the Five New Basics by taking the following curriculum during their 4 years of high school: (a) 4 years of English; (b) 3 years of mathematics; (c) 3 years of science; (d) 3 years of social studies; and (e) one-half year of computer science. For the college-bound, 2 years of foreign language in high school are strongly recommended in addition to those taken earlier.

In the area of expectations, they recommended that schools, colleges, and universities adopt more rigorous and measurable standards, and higher expectations, for academic performance and student conduct, and that 4-year colleges and universities raise their requirements for admission. This will help students do their best educationally with challenging materials in an environment that supports learning and authentic accomplishment.

In the area of time, they recommend that significantly more time be devoted to learning the New Basics. This will require more effective use of the existing school day, a longer school day, or a lengthened school year.

In the area of teaching, their recommendation consisted of seven parts. Each is intended to improve the preparation of teachers or to make teaching a more rewarding and respected profession. Each of the seven stands on its own and should not be considered solely as an implementing recommendation.

The report also had a nice word to parents and student, which I found very inspiring.

“To Parents

You know that you cannot confidently launch your children into today's world unless they are of strong character and well-educated in the use of language, science, and mathematics. They must possess a deep respect for intelligence, achievement, and learning, and the skills needed to use them; for setting goals; and for disciplined work. That respect must be accompanied by an intolerance for the shoddy and second-rate masquerading as "good enough."

You have the right to demand for your children the best our schools and colleges can provide. Your vigilance and your refusal to be satisfied with less than the best are the imperative first step. But your right to a proper education for your children carries a double responsibility. As surely as you are your child's first and most influential teacher, your child's ideas about education and its significance begin with you. You must be a living example of what you expect your children to honor and to emulate. Moreover, you bear a responsibility to participate actively in your child's education. You should encourage more diligent study and discourage satisfaction with mediocrity and the attitude that says "let it slide"; monitor your child's study; encourage good study habits; encourage your child to take more demanding rather than less demanding courses; nurture your child's curiosity, creativity, and confidence; and be an active participant in the work of the schools. Above all, exhibit a commitment to continued learning in your own life. Finally, help your children understand that excellence in education cannot be achieved without intellectual and moral integrity coupled with hard work and commitment. Children will look to their parents and teachers as models of such virtues.

To Students

You forfeit your chance for life at its fullest when you withhold your best effort in learning. When you give only the minimum to learning, you receive only the minimum in return. Even with your parents' best example and your teachers' best efforts, in the end it is your work that determines how much and how well you learn. When you work to your full capacity, you can hope to attain the knowledge and skills that will enable you to create your future and control your destiny. If you do not, you will have your future thrust upon you by others. Take hold of your life, apply your gifts and talents, work with dedication and self-discipline. Have high expectations for yourself and convert every challenge into an opportunity.”

I wondered, while doing the research for this paper, if our nation is still ‘at risk’ because the U.S. is still not performing up to the level that it needs to be in order to stay competitive in a global economy.

References

http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/nation-at-risk-25-years/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_at_Risk

http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/accountable/accountable.pdf

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/appenda.html