Four goals for education to reach by 1989

WHERE do US educators think the flurry of reforms will leave the nation at the end of the decade? Though it is too early to say with any certainty, and though each state is setting its own educational agenda for reform, a consensus appears to be shaping around four goals.

* By 1989, the goal for all high school graduates in all 50 states will be a requirement to study English for four years, and math, science, and social studies for three years. Students will be required to pass examinations in each subject area. There will be no decline in the commitment to provide equal opportunity and special help to the disadvantaged or the handicapped.

* To have the SAT/ACT (national standardized tests used for college entrance) scores of high school seniors in 1989 back at the same level as those of seniors in 1965, the last year before the scores began their 17 year dive.

* A reduction in the high school dropout rate (which has been increasing alarmingly) to less than 10 percent.

* Making the teaching profession more attractive by having entry level college graduates' salaries competitive with the average entry-level salaries of college graduates with degrees in business and engineering.