U.S. Urged to Reinvent Its Schools

Education groups favor parts of sweeping plan, call others too drastic.

Washington

A report calling for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the U.S. education and training system to help Americans compete in a global economy drew lavish praise and sharp criticism last week, foreshadowing what a heavy political lift its recommendations would likely be to carry out.

Titled “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” the report was unveiled at an all-day meeting here Dec. 14 by a prominent panel whose members include former U.S. secretaries of education and labor, retired governors and mayors, state and local superintendents, and business executives.

Its vision for what’s ailing American education and how to fix it takes on virtually every sacred cow and special-interest...