Slow Pace of School Reform Worries Business Leaders

By Mark Walsh

A decade after A Nation at Risk, the 1983 federal report that galvanized efforts to reform American schools, business leaders are "deeply disturbed'' by what they see as a lack of progress toward that goal, a report by the Conference Board says.

The informal survey of corporate leaders by the board found that they express moderate praise of business efforts to help improve schools in the past decade, but recognize the need for an even stronger commitment to systemic change.

"While affirming the good intentions and the effort in workplace programs,'' the report released last month says, business leaders "are deeply disturbed by the lack...