Educators have long debated the goals of secondary education and the approaches schools should take in order to meet them. The focus of the debate has shifted several times since the development of the comprehensive high school.
Today, virtually all individuals between 14 and 17 years old are enrolled in school, whereas only 10% of this age group was students 100 years ago. Now, the average American adolescent's school year consists of 180 six-hour days and adolescents are more likely to remain in school for more years now than in past eras.
The Origins of Compulsory Education: High school attendance was not made compulsory for adolescents until well into the 20th century. The growth of secondary education during the early part of the century can be traced to several economic and social changes that occurred during that time, including increased industrialization, urbanization, and rates of immigration.
The Rise of the Comprehensive High School: During the first half of the century, the educational system was designed to meet the needs of a diverse population of adolescents, and the result became known as the comprehensive high school. Since that time, schools have come to play an increasingly prominent role in the lives of young people.
SCHOOL REFORM: PAST AND PRESENT
During the 1950s, emphasis was placed on math and science education; during the 1960s and 1970s, the pendulum swung toward "relevance." During the 1980s, critics of the schools called for a return to basics, more stringent standards, and more challenging course work. Today, there is increasing concern over students' inability to use higher-order thinking as well as the need for more rigorous academic standards.
Education in Inner Cities: Special concerns have been raised about the degree to which inner-city schools are preparing students for the modern labor market. Poverty, inefficient administrative bureaucracies, and declining job opportunities in inner-city markets are all cited as reasons for the failure of school reform initiatives in urban school districts.
Characteristics of Good Schools: There exists widespread agreement regarding the characteristics of good schools. Good schools: (1) emphasize intellectual activities, (2) have teachers who are committed to their students and who are granted autonomy in their classrooms, (3) monitor the effectiveness of educational practices and policies, (4) are well integrated into the surrounding community, and (5) have good classrooms in which students are active - not passive - participants in the process of education.
THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOLS
School Size and Class Size: Social scientists have looked at variations in school and class size, various forms of age grouping, tracking, social integration, and public versus private schooling. Research indicates that students in small schools are more likely than students in large schools to be involved in a wider range of activities, but that class size does not typically affect students' scholastic achievement.
Age Grouping and School Transitions: Educators have long debated how best to structure schools for young adolescents. Middle schools seem slightly preferable to junior high schools, but research on the transition from elementary to secondary school (whether middle or junior high) indicates that this transition is difficult for many students. Researchers point to features of the middle school environment that may be problematic and, more generally, to a mismatch between the middle school environment and the developmental needs of young adolescents.
Tracking: In general, educational research does not support the grouping of students by ability, or tracking. Students placed in the lower tracks or in low ability groups within classrooms receive a markedly inferior education than do those in the higher tracks or groups. Furthermore, once a student is placed in a lower track, it is very difficult for the student to move up. Tracking may also contribute to the polarization of the student body into different subcultures that feel hostile toward each other. Even in cases of gifted adolescents (who score 130 or above on IQ tests) and adolescents with learning disabilities, educators generally recommend mainstreaming, or mixing students of different ability levels, instead of separating them.
School Desegregation: The desegregation of schools has had little short-term impact on achievement levels of either minority or white youngsters, and does not increase interracial contact. Studies also indicate that white enrollment tends to decline in the first year of a desegregation program and that minority youth who attend schools in which they are the majority have higher levels of self-esteem. The long-term effects of desegregation appear to be more beneficial. For example, African-American youth who attend desegregated high schools, especially boys, are not only more likely to graduate from high school, but are also more likely to continue their education and be more prosperous in adulthood. Thus, desegregated high schools programs do benefit minority youth but these benefits may not be apparent until adulthood.
Public Schools versus Private Schools: During the late 1980s, many educators, policy-makers, and researchers became interested in the differences between public and private school education. For example, school choice programs (using public funds for either private or public education) may equalize the available social capital associated with private schools. Initial investigations by Coleman revealed that, even when taking into account preexisting differences between public and private students, those who attended private schools achieved more. He argued that these differences were due to a similarity of values and attitudes between the school and the family, which he calls functional community.
The Importance of School Climate: Generally speaking, the classroom environment, or school climate, emerges as the most important school factor affecting students' performance and behavior. Students do better in classrooms that have an authoritative (rather than authoritarian or permissive) atmosphere, in which teachers are warm and firm and maintain high standards.
Students are also more likely to be engaged in school when they have opportunities for developing their competencies, feel attached to the school as an institution, and are engaged in authentic work (student engagement), rather than busy-work. Several studies indicate that students' behavior is influenced by what their teachers expect of them, known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.
In addition, peer groups' norms and values also exert important influences. For instance, many African-American youth are pressured not to achieve because succeeding in school is seen by peers as "acting white" and as a violation of the group's ethnic identity.
BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL
The College Bound: About two-thirds of all American adolescents go on to some form of education beyond high school. The proportion of Hispanic-Americans enrolled in college, however, has declined. In other countries, fewer individuals continue their education beyond high school since adolescents are often separated into college and non-college bound tracks early in adolescence.
The "Forgotten Half": Many social critics believe that high schools as they are presently structured do not serve non-college-bound adolescents very well. As a result, half of the country's adolescents--the so-called Forgotten Half--leave high school without adequate preparation for the world of work they hope to enter.
SCHOOLS AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
It is difficult to generalize about the role of schools in adolescent development. Research indicates, overall, that academically and economically advantaged adolescents have a more positive experience in school than their counterparts.
One worrisome theme that has emerged from studies of high schools is that schools, as they are presently structured, seem to work best for those students who need the least help.
