CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN SCHOOLING
KEY POINTS
Public education is the largest employer in this country. Some of the reforms, as a result of the critical reports issued in the early 1980s, have been successful while others have failed. The majority of the general public believe schools have stayed the same or gotten worse during the past five years. The purposes of today’s schools go way beyond the original purposes of religious and academic training. The melting pot theory has never been fully realized; many diverse cultural groups retain distinct identities and are represented in public schools. To improve the quality of teachers, many states have initiated reforms including competency tests, better salaries, merit pay, incentives, merit pay incentives, and stiffer entrance requirements into teacher education programs. Conservative groups played a major role in the educational reform movement of the 1980s. Changing enrollment patterns continue to create problems in planning for public education. The general future outlook for public education is excellent.
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