As concerns mount over the costs and benefits of higher education, it may be worthwhile to glance at the benefits of high school education at present as well. Of course, high school costs, while high, are borne by the taxpayers in general, but it is reasonable to hope that there are sufficient benefits for such an outlay. One of the most frequently heard complaints of college professors is that their new students (and many of their older students) cannot seem to read and write. This author contends that American public high schools in general do not believe in having students read complete nonfiction books, but confine reading assignments to excerpts or textbooks; nor do they believe in having students do the research and writing necessary for serious term papers. In this article, Fitzhugh focuses on the high school flight from reading and writing and explains that American public high schools confine assigned reading mainly to works of fiction and assigned writing to personal and creative efforts. The author argues that if educators do not assign importance to reading nonfiction and writing term papers, it should be no surprise that when their students arrive at college or in the workplace, they cannot read or write very well. (Contains 7 footnotes.)