International Baccalaureate students in Washington state respond to a science question.
 

All societies must wrestle with fundamental questions about the nature and purpose of their educational system, but the United States was the first nation to face these questions as a democracy.

Early on, Americans understood that their future as a free people rested upon their own wisdom and judgment, and not that of some distant ruler. For this reason, the quality, character, and costs of education have remained among the country’s central preoccupations since its founding.

Educational institutions of all types and sizes, from nursery schools to advanced research institutions, populate the American landscape. Public schools have been described as the nation’s most familiar government institutions. Whether communities are poor or affluent, urban or rural, public schools are a common denominator throughout the United States.

From their origins two centuries ago through today, America’s public and private schools have served to define the American identity. Every national experience shaping the American character has been played out in its classrooms: race and treatment of minorities, immigration and growth of cities, westward expansion and economic growth, individual freedom and the nature of community.

Fundamental questions about the purpose and methods of education have resonated in public debates in the United States from the “common school” movement of the early 19th century to debates over academic standards and testing today.

Should schools emphasize basic skills — reading, writing, and mathematics — or provide a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences? How can schools provide equal access to all yet maintain high academic standards? Who should pay for schools — parents or the public? Should schools focus on practical, job-oriented skills, or give all children the academic courses necessary to succeed in college? How should teachers impart moral and spiritual values to the children of different cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds? What criteria should be used for selecting secondary school students for admission to prestigious colleges and universities?

The answers to these questions are not easy, and, in fact, schools in the United States have answered them in very different ways at different times in the nation’s history. Today, as in the past, education remains a topic of vigorous debate, rapid change, and enduring values.