I have been reading documents of the past in preparing lectures for an online education class. I came across James B. Conant's 1960 checklist for what to look for in a comprehensive high school. Conant was a former Harvard president who studied the topic of comprehensive high school through a Carnegie grant. This checklist was provided in his 1960 book, The American High School. Since I attend K-12 in the 1950s through the 1960s, it is interesting to apply this checklist to my own education. 

 

1960 Checklist to Assist in Evaluating a Comprehensive High School

 

A. Adequacy of general education for all judged by:

1. Offerings in English and American literature and composition.

2. Social studies, including American history.

3. Ability grouping in required courses.

B. Adequacy of nonacademic elective program as judged by:

4. The vocational programs for boys and commercial programs for girls.

5. Opportunities for supervised work experience.

6. Special provisions for very slow readers.

C. Special arrangements for the academically talented students:

7. Special provisions for challenging the highly gifted.

8. Special instructions for developing reading skills.

9. Summer sessions from which able students may profit.

10. Individual programs (absence of tracks or rigid programs).

11. School day organized into seven or more instructional periods.

D. Other features:

12. Adequacy of the guidance service.

13. Student morale.

14. Well-organized homerooms.

15. The success of the school in promoting an understanding between students with widely different academic abilities and vocational goals (effective social interaction among students).