Over the past 30 years, public education in America has
experienced a barrage of criticism, prompting various and sundry
reforms designed to make government-funded schools more
effective. Despite the best efforts of the reformers, however,
public confidence in public schools is lower today than it was
three decades ago. All of the time, effort, and money spent on
the current system have not led to significant and widespread
improvement. After a generation of futile tinkering it is time
to stop, take a step back, and ask ourselves a few basic
questions about how education is delivered in this country. What
Does the Public Want? Parents want a great many things from
their schools, but their aspirations can be distilled down to
four general goals. First and foremost among these goals is that
schools provide their students with the academic basics: Public
consensus on the importance of basic academic and job training
is high both nationally and internationally. Beyond the basics,
however, parental priorities begi