A Nation at Risk
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform is the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history. Among other things, the report contributed to the ever-growing assertion that American schools were failing, and it touched off a wave of local, state, and federal reform efforts. Formation and motivation The commission consisted of 18 members, drawn from the private sector, government, and education. The chair of the commission was David Pierpont Gardner. Secretary of Education Terrel Bell sought to have the president appoint the commission. Reagan disagreed and it was Bell who established the commission and appointed its members. As implied by the title of the report, the commission's charter responds to Terrel Bell's observation that the United States' educational system was failing to meet the national need for a competitive workforce. Yvonne Larsen, vice-chairman of the commission, and Gerald Holton, a member, have both stated that they were trying to confirm concerns they already had, rather than complete an objective analysis of the state of schools. Among other things, the charter required the commission to assess the "quality of teaching and learning"