This supplement summarizes the National Commission on Excellence in Education's final report "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" and offers guidelines for citizens interested in forming their own commission on excellence. Resource organizations and publications for local commissions are listed. Theses and recommendations of the report of the Twentieth Century Fund's Task Force on Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Policy, the report of the Education Commission of the States' Task Force on Education for Economic Growth, and the College Board's statement concerning academic preparation for college are succinctly recounted. The supplement also contains a letter describing the reception of the reports and provides editorial commentary urging citizens to upgrade the nation's schools. (RH)