Since the early 1980s, blue ribbon commissions and task forces have focused their attention upon identifying problems and suggesting solutions to shortcomings within the public educational system. Some of the questions that can be raised include the following: (1) Who are these citizens interested in educational practices? (2) What solutions have they proposed? and (3) How is public education linked with the health of the American economy? This paper addresses these questions as well as providing a view of the educational reform movement from the perspective of a vocational educator. Successful practices within the field of vocational education are identified with special emphasis upon the cooperative education method. The paper is organized in four sections. The first section provides a definitional focus for examining the educational reform movement. Section 2 contains a summary of 11 commission findings and recommendations. The effects of reform recommendations upon practices in public schools are reviewed in the third section. In the final section, strategies for implementing recommendations, including an expansion and updating of cooperative vocational programs, are proposed. (KC)