The blind men and the high school.(Advertisement)

It is on everyone's lips: the next big thing in education reform is a serious focus on high school. That's what President Bush wants to do, what the Gates Foundation wants to do, and what a vast array of experts and education groups want to do.

And it's about time. U.S. high school education remains sorely afflicted, both by sky-high dropout rates and by weak academic achievement among those who do finish.

Yet no consensus has emerged as to what changes are needed. As I deconstruct a cornucopia of reform proposals, they group themselves into six broad solution strategies, each buttressed by a distinctive view of the core problem.

Problem 1: Schools aren't accomplishing all they could because they haven't been accountable for their results.

Solution: Extend standards-based reform to high schools by holding them to account for their students' achievement, completion rates, and so forth. Many states are doing this already, and the president wants to give it a strong push from Washington.

Problem 2: Students are not working hard enough or learning enough because it doesn't "count."

Solution: Make students pass statewide graduation tests to earn their diplomas. This version of accountability bears down primarily on kids rather than institutions. Join "tough" with "love" via rewards for success in high school, such as college scholarships for those with solid grades.