The U.S. system of education has many areas needing improvement, but the continuous cries of the past decade that U.S. students and their schools are in desperately poor condition are misleading. The many admirable features of the U.S. system threaten to be subsumed by the criticism. The United States believes in providing an opportunity for all persons to learn and develop their potential to the fullest. Many of the foreign countries with whom the United States has been compared so unfavorably possess elitist, selective systems that allow limited numbers of students to progress. It also is argued that this is not the first time in the nation's history when education has been scrutinized. In past times, the U.S. system has demonstrated its capacity to grow and change and be receptive to new ideas. Most of the top universities and centers of higher learning are located in the United States, a fact that is not lost on foreign countries, who send their students to the United States in great numbers. As long as it remains open, innovative, and humane, as long as it nurtures inspiration and promotes originality, U.S. education is not that mediocre. (DB)