Key quote is by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Sizer" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Sizer</a> from Horace's Compromise<p><pre><code>   If students have yet to meet the fundamental standards of literacy, 
   numeracy and civic understanding, programs should focus exclusively 
   on these. Some critics will argue that the school must go beyond 
   these subjects to hold the interest of the pupils...but a fourteen 
   year old who is semi-literate is an adolescent in need of intensive, 
   focused attention.</code></pre>