The past decade has marked a period of widespread public disillusionment with public schools. While the latest Gallup Survey of Public Attitudes Toward Public Schools (1980) indicates an end to the steady decline of public esteem for education, there is still a crisis of confidence. The decline in national test scores, numerous disclosures of high school graduates who are illiterate and the increased costs of public education have resulted in an erosion of public faith in public schooling.
