This speaker looked at secondary education in the United States and made a number of generalizations concerning its history, the principles shaping it, its goals, and how these goals are chosen. Changes in secondary schools over the last fifteen years are examined in areas of educational goals, school size, and expenditures. Types of secondary schools are examined and compared in regard to enrollment. Principals' beliefs about institutional arrangements in 1965 and 1977-78 are compared. The paper concludes with assertions about the secondary school as one institution for the education of youth and some reflections about its future. (Author/JM)