This chapter provides an overview of James B. Conant and his vision of the comprehensive high school. Today, U.S. high schools are the subject of renewed discussion as secondary student achievement and dropout rates, especially among minority students, continue to cause concern.

You can find a great deal of information about various reforms that are being discussed and/or implemented for American high schools today on the Internet. Try different keywords such as "small schools," "freshman academies," or "restructuring high schools." Start at http://www.essentialschools.org/cs/resources/view/ces_res/18 for a detailed and current argument on behalf of this model. Then take a look at sites that advocate different approaches, some of which are listed below. What do you think makes sense?

• Small Schools Workshop
  ( http://smallschoolsworkshop.org/ )



• Small Schools Project
  ( http://www.smallschoolsproject.org/ )



• Ten Common Principles: The Coalition of Essential Schools
  ( http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/about/phil/10cps/10cps.html )



• Restructuring High Schools Can Improve Student Achievement
  ( http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/publications/highlights/v8n1.pdf )