Comprehensiveness, local control, and public funding combine to create public secondary schools that serve the educational needs of all students and are open to influence from people outside the school structure. From these sectors come demands for accountability; community influence; and a heavy commitment of resources to maintaining good attendance, discipline, and public relations, which are the responsibility of the school administration. Secondary school curriculum consists of a broad range of diverse courses. This diversity is the result of perceived student needs and, in particular, the public schools' vulnerability to pressure from advocacy groups who, by their special demands, shape and increase curriculum offerings. Responsibility for curriculum falls to the teachers, who must instruct and relate to students, and not burden the administration with disciplinary problems. Fragmented, diverse, open, and fluid curriculum responds to the needs and demands of students with widely divergent abilities, attitudes toward education, and career plans. The critical factor which differentiates a "good" school from one not so good is the orientation of the majority of the students in the school toward superior academic education. (JD)