Aware of the societal problems stemming from a lack of communication skills, the American public is pressing for instruction in speaking and listening in the schools. This response is reflected in the speaking and listening competency recommendations in many national reform reports. Such reports include "A Nation at Risk" by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, the "Action for Excellence Report" of the Task Force on Education for Economic Growth, "The Gordon Cawelti Model for High School General Education" by the Executive Director of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and a report on secondary education in the United States by Ernest L. Boyer of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Speech Communication Association (SCA) also has 19 recommended competencies in four basic areas for secondary education: (1) communication codes, (2) oral message evaluation, (3) basic speech communication skills, and (4) human relations. (HTH)