Patricia Graham's recent defense of public education in the United States shows that public education has been responsive to society's demands and supports the earlier observation of Charles Burgess and Merle Borrowman that the dominant educational ideology is a function of the nation's need for human resources. When the nation has clear and specific human resource requirements, educational ideology emphasizes "social productivity" values. When human resource requirements are not readily identifiable, educational ideology stresses "consummatory" values. At times, the school and society, through media and school guidance counselors, emphasize the knowledge and skills students need to secure positions with significant social and economic rewards. In that way, a sufficient supply of properly trained personnel is assured to accomplish whatever is identified as being on the nation's agenda. When there is less certainty about human resource requirements, schools emphasize how students can develop and enjoy their own interests. As the nation's agenda changes so do the school's curricula and the researchers' agenda. This article discusses public education, educational research, and the nation's agenda during the Progressive Era.