In 1985 Congress instructed the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to report every two years on the state of humanities throughout the United States. This report is the first to be issued. Although community humanities' programs have increased, the number of college students enrolled in humanities courses has dropped considerably within the last 20 years. The effect scholarship has had on teaching and the emphasis on current political issues in classrooms are discussed. The role of the Western tradition as a focus for education is debated as higher education institutions create courses and undergraduate requirements in non-Western courses. The effects of television on the reading habits of U.S. citizens is outlined and this medium's potential for the humanities includes educational programming on public television stations and the availability of films on videocassettes. The public's support of the "William Wordsworth and the Age of English Romanticism" exhibition, opened at the New York Public Library in October, 1987, reflects its growing interest in such projects. The report concludes with a series of recommendations on how the humanities can be strengthened by the three major providers of public education: colleges and universities; television; and the "parallel school," i.e., museums, libraries, humanities councils, historical organizations, and the like. (DJC)