A Nation at Risk was the report published in 1983 by the commission on excellence in education appointed by President Regan. The report quickly pointed out that the level of student illiteracy was high and that SAT scores had been on a steady decline for the two decades before publication of the report. Mediocrity was a word used to describe the state of education in America. However, SAT scores actually started to improve beginning in 1980.

The report provided specific recommendations for improving the nation’s educational system. Every student at the minimum should be required to take: (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. All K-12 schools and colleges should adopt rigorous standards. To be effective, the standards needed to be measurable. In fact, the report kicked off the standard movement with professional education organizations creating and publishing national standards. Longer school days or years would be needed to study the curricula outlined by the new standards. Many suggestions were given to improve teacher preparation programs, educational leadership, and fiscal support.

Education was directly tied to economic competitiveness, and schools were to be accountable for the quality of student education verified by external testing. The call for more testing began with the report. Comparisons of American schools began to be made to international schools. Scores of America’s top-level students were highest or near the top on international tests.

The focus on testing of students continued to 2000s. The No Child Left Behind Act (2001), Common Core movement (2010s), and Every Student Succeeds Act (2016) continued the focus on education standards and testing. In 2020’s the NY Board of Regents re-envisioned NY state students’ testing, but the focus on testing persists.

“Any attempt to isolate developments in the schools from those in society at large turns out to reflect principally the inclination to institutionalize blame for whatever is going wrong: the formal part of the learning process cannot be separated from its societal context” (College Board). Students come to the classroom with lived experiences that affect their ability to succeed in school.

Teachers have long resisted narrowing of the curriculum to focus on testing. The tipping point depends on what the purpose of education is determined to be. Throughout the history of American education, teachers and the community have continued to question the role of schools and schooling in our country.

Wrap Up

Past educational events continue to have an impact on educational policy and how American teachers go about educating students. Examining history in context gives reason to much of the current educational landscape. Labaree argues for three goals of education: democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility. Viewing history through these lenses allows educators to consider how each of these goals has played a part in the development of today’s schools. A Nation at Risk still holds a strong sway on how education is viewed in this country from a need to provide the capability of citizens to maintain the country’s economic well being to holding teachers solely responsible for the quality of graduates.