Main Points of Education Report

Issued two months ago with great fanfare, the “Carnegie report” was the work of a national panel of educators, government officials and businessmen. Officially named the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, the panel included Gov. Thomas Kean of New Jersey, California schools Superintendent Bill Honig, and former Gov. James Hunt of North Carolina. It was chaired by Lewis Branscomb, chief scientist and vice president of International Business Machines Corp. It was financed by the Carnegie Corp., a New York-based foundation that for decades has been a sponsor of education reforms.

Among the principal recommendations of the report were:

- That a national certification board be set up to establish standards for the teaching profession. Among other things, the board would create an examination aimed at identifying the best teachers.

- That states and colleges do away with the bachelor’s degree in education, and require teachers to have a degree in the arts or sciences as a prerequisite for starting teacher training.

- That the best teachers within each school system be given the bulk of responsibility for making educational policy. These “lead teachers” would be paid at rates competitive with other professions. They would be charged with “the redesign of the schools,” and would be held accountable for student progress.