What must we do to fix our education system? Members of the general public, parents, and teachers agree that we need higher academic standards and high standards of conduct for all our students. They believe that, until we have these things, no other reform can succeed. But what about the students, and particularly teenagers? If we institute tougher standards, will students simply laugh and ignore them--as many ignore the work they are given now? The usual picture of teenagers is not encouraging. We hear that they are uninterested in education and contemptuous of students who do work hard. They come to school mainly to see their friends, can hardly wait for the school day to be over, and get through their classes doing as little as possible.
But "Getting By: What American Teenagers Really Think About Their Schools," the new report from Public Agenda, presents a picture that is more complicated--and far more encouraging. The report, a sequel to earlier Public Agenda studies of public and teacher opinion about the schools, is based on national telephone interviews and focus groups with teenagers. The surprise is that these youngsters are remarkably similar to teachers and other adults in many of their ideas about the value of education and the need for higher standards.
Not only are students convinced that getting an education is vital to their future success, they also agree with teachers and other adults about the importance of tougher standards of discipline. Seventy-one percent say that disruptive students are a big problem in their classes. And they are hard- nosed about the way to take care of the problem--kick out the "constant troublemakers." Eighty-three percent say this would help them learn more, which puts them solidly in line with the views that teachers and other members of the public revealed in earlier Public Agenda reports.
What about academic standards? Students admit that expectations about their work are often low and they take full advantage of that fact. But many also seem to be disappointed that they are allowed to "glide through." As one student told researchers, "They practically hand you a diploma .... If you had to work harder for it, then you would be actually learning something ...." Undoubtedly, the teenagers that Public Agenda surveyed are testing limits, and, like most kids involved in that game, they are also yearning for adults to draw the line and demand more of them.
What do they think should be demanded? Like the teachers and other adults surveyed by Public Agenda, the students want higher academic standards that are consistently enforced. Three-quarters of the teenagers said that "a good command of the English language" should be required for high school graduation. The same percentage said that automatic promotion is a bad idea: "Schools should only pass students when they have learned what is expected of them." And a big majority (84 percent) rejected the idea that less should be expected of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. The result of toughening standards and holding students to them? A majority believes that most students would pay more attention to their work and would learn more. Public Agenda researchers found little difference among racial and ethnic groups when it came to support for higher standards. However, African-American teenagers were much more likely to consider traditional academic subjects, like American history, chemistry, and advanced math, "extremely important" than their white counterparts.
This merely scratches the surface of a very rich report, but there is one more thing that should be noted. The study included a small group of private school students and, when Public Agenda asked public and private school students to rate their teachers, private school teachers got better marks. Does this mean that they are better? Probably not. It's more likely that the difference in responses reflected differences in the schools over which the teachers had little control. Why shouldn't a larger percentage of private school teachers be warm and enthusiastic? Few have the overcrowded classes that many public school teachers face; they teach in schools that typically refuse to admit kids with behavior problems and toss out ones who develop these problems; and they know that the school backs them in demanding hard work of the students. If we gave kids the standards they are calling for, many of the differences they find between private and public school teachers would disappear.
Should we be surprised at the students' call for standards? I don't think so. Anybody who has taught teenagers realizes that, beneath the sometimes obnoxious shell some of them assume, they are fair-minded and smart. The students Public Agenda talked to know that their schools are letting them down by letting them get by--they even know that standards would help to remedy the problem. It is up to us to make sure they get that help.
For copies of "Getting By" and the earlier reports ("First Things First," "Assignment Incomplete," and "Given the Circumstances"), call 212-686-6610.