School: 1980-2000
The Reagan Administration put out a 1983 report called “A Nation at Risk” which described how the American education system was failing to educate students well and gave a long list of recommendations on how to improve public schools. The main focus of this era was to create and educational system and curriculum that would prepare students to compete in the business driven world during the time. American students scored very poorly on 19 academic tests compared to other countries and 13% of 17 year olds were considered to be illiterate. Schools were to blame for the educational failures since they were found to have low standards and low quality that was not suitable for success. The school system tried to fix this through standardized testing so students can increase their knowledge and understanding of the materials they learn. Teachers were also required higher standards in their profession and better salaries too. The School Choice Plan in t...
