With respect to the high school student, there has been: (1) a decline over the past 10-15 years in high school student averages in aptitude for learning, in achievement from learning, and in motivation for further learning; (2) an increase in the need for remedial mathematics and reading and writing skill courses for college students; and (3) an even more severe need for remedial instruction for the non-college bound high school graduate, particularly in the military. In reviewing studies done on teenage reading and television viewing habits, it becomes obvious that many teenagers today show little purposive striving toward goals of intellectual development, and they invest little mental effort in learning. General observations of schools today indicate that they are profoundly diverse, porous, loosely-coupled systems and that the education system in general is panacea-ridden. These aspects of schools operate to complicate the problem and to thwart attempts at improvement. Recommendations for improvement include: (1) federal and state policies must be framed as adaptive strategies; (2) instructional strategies within a locale must be adaptive; (3) cognitive psychology needs to be researched more thoroughly; (4) cognitive instructional techniques must be taught to teachers; and (5) technology must be used in the classroom. (JM)