The decay in the quality of education is due to a breakdown in authority the schools have over students and educational processes. Emphasis must be placed on the school's power to determine minimum competencies through periodic evaluation, and, if necessary, to prescribe remedial education or grade repetition. Schools should have special reading clinics for students who experience difficulties in attaining minimum reading skills. In addition to emphasis on reading, writing, speaking, and computational skills, the school should take care to inculcate a sense of social and moral responsibility in its students. This responsibility includes respect for life, property, and integrity. To facilitate moral education in public schools, new preservice and inservice programs must be developed. (RJG)