Nation at Risk

This article looked at what was happening in American education throughout the 1980s.  It was bluntly stated that American schools were crumbling around the nation. Statistics showed that students were achieving at a lower and lower rate every year. This was unacceptable and the report stated that the nation should be looking to correct the trend. 25 years later a second report was written that looks at what has occurred in education since the findings were published. Despite the fact that things have clearly improved across the board there is some belief that the original article was out of line. It will most likely always be unclear as to whether the publishing of this article was a help or hindrance to the education system.

I would have to argue that the one thing these articles lack is some sort of advice, or even a call for advice. For all the criticizing they do, they don’t offer the educational system and thoughts or musings upon what could help to improve the failing system in America. I’m not sure what impact this article had on the system. Sure, schools are doing better, but there is always room for improvement. Would schools have figured this out on their own, or did they need this abrasive wakeup?  This was definitely an interesting group of articles and I am curious to see how we continue on in this Nation at Risk.