Teenagers want more from public schools - study by the Public Agenda Foundation in New York shows that most high school students want schools to have stricter academic standards and greater expectations - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), August, 1997

Public high school students want their schools to have much tougher academic standards and higher expectations, according to Getting By: What American Teenagers Really Think About Their Schools, a study released by the Public Agenda Foundation, New York. More than 70% of high school teens think most kids will pay greater attention and learn more with higher standards, and 65% readily admit they could do much better in school if they tried. Approximately three in four think students should only pass if they have learned the required materials, and significant majorities think a strong command of English should be required for a high school diploma (79% of white, 71% of Hispanic, and 68% of African-American students).

"Half of teens in public schools today told us their schools fail to challenge them to do their best. Students across the country spoke about how little work they do to earn acceptable grades and, consequently, how boring and meaningless their classes are," notes Deborah Wadsworth, executive director of Public Agenda. "Central to their learning, students repeatedly told us, are their classroom teachers. The students seem to be crying out for the adults in their lives to take a stand and inspire them to do more."

Seventy-nine percent of the students say they would learn more if schools enforced being on time along with the completion of homework. "You can just glide through. You can copy somebody's homework at the beginning of the period. I mean you can do whatever you want.... They practically hand you a diploma," a Seattle, Wash., public school teenager said. These thoughts were echoed by students in more than a half-dozen focus groups held nationwide.

In addition to calling for higher standards, 70% of public school teenagers feel there are too many disruptive students in their classes, and 80% say the removal of unruly teens from regular classes would help them learn more. This is consistent across racial lines, with white, African-American, and Hispanic students holding the same views. Based on earlier research, public school teachers (88%), the general public (73%), and public school parents (74%) share these sentiments, saying the removal of troublesome students will improve learning.

On the academic front, the "basics" top the list of items public school students think are important to learn before they finish high school, followed by good work habits (86%). honesty and tolerance of others (78%), and computers (75%). For white and Hispanic students, no academic subject other than the basics is a priority; African-American students, however, give many academic subjects somewhat higher ratings. For example, on the issue of learning American history and geography before the end of high school, 25% of white public school students consider this extremely important; 45% of Hispanic students share this view; and 59% of black students believe it of extreme importance. Classic works from writers such as William Shakespeare and Plato, as well as modern American authors such as John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway, are ranked at the bottom of students' lists.

"Students are issuing a distress signal, and it's time for us to stop the blame shifting from parents to teachers to administrators to the media and focus our energies on addressing their plea for order, structure, and moral authority in their lives," Wadsworth maintains.