by PRP Group, on 04/26/2023
“Our Nation is at risk… Our society and its educational institutions seem to have lost sight of the basic purpose of schooling… All, regardless of race or class of economic status, are entitled to a fair chance and to the tools for developing their individual mind and spirit to the utmost… Individuals in our society who do not possess the level of skill, literacy, and training essential to this new era will effectively be disenfranchised, not… from the material rewards that accompany competent performance, but… from the chance to participate fully in our national life.”
These words could have been written today, but in fact they were written 40 years ago by members of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The commission was created in 1981 in response to the concerns raised by Secretary of Education Terrence Bell that there existed, “widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our educational system.”
While some of the issues identified in the 1983 “A Nation at Risk” report have been addressed, many have not, and several new challenges have presented themselves. Forty years after the publication, there continues to be a public perception that “something is seriously remiss in our educational system.”