By Nicolette Mallow
nmallow20@student.scad.edu
Two weeks ago marked the 25th anniversary of the “A Nation At Risk” report given to President Ronald Reagan in 1983 that addressed the insufficiencies of the public school system of the U.S. The report was created with the help of 18 members and their commission chair, David Pierpont Gardner. It was made to stress the issue to the federal government that the nation was giving in “to a rising tide of mediocrity,” and that in a country with a competitive workplace it was essential that education standards were enhanced to maintain excellence and broaden the minds of U.S. citizens. It was made to expose the issue to the public that the education systems were failing in many areas and it was time for change.
In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education stated in “A Nation At Risk,” “all, regardless of race or class or economic status, are entitled to a fair chance and to the tools for developing their individual powers of mind and spirit to the utmost. This promise means that all children by virtue of their own efforts, competently guided, can hope to attain the mature and informed judgment needed to secure gainful employment, and to manage their own lives, thereby serving not only their own interests but also the progress of society itself.”
Eighteen years later, the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” targeted many of the same issues as “A Nation At Risk.” It was created to improve education, but also to balance the rising shift in social classes and accommodate for the growing divide in opportunity and economy.
In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of “A Nation At Risk,” U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings recently released “A Nation Accountable.” The report assesses the progress the country has made since 1983. It acknowledges that, due to “the rising demands of our global economy, together with demographic shifts,” students must be provided with a better education than ever before. Spellings’ report also notes that while the “No Child Left Behind Act” is a step in the right direction, our heightened awareness of flaws in the education system can be used to further improve the nation’s schools.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “46 percent of high school graduates ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college” and “college enrollment was totaling 16.6 million students in 2003, which was up from 14.4 million a decade earlier.” In Georgia alone, 56 percent of high school students graduated in 2004. Sixty-four percent of those students went to college. During a six-year period ending in 2005, only 54 percent of students graduated college.
