A survey of 1,300 public and private high-school students by the group Public Agenda reveals that what they really want is more hard work in better-ordered classrooms.

• More than seven out of ten said they would study harder and pay more attention if their schools required them to learn more and only let them graduate after passing tests.

• Some 94 percent rated basic reading, writing and math skills as "extremely important."

• Support for tougher standards was strongest among black students in almost every category of the survey.

• Eight out of every ten students said they would learn more if problem teens were removed from classrooms, and the same proportion said they would learn more if work deadlines were enforced.

Source: Editorial, "Students Know They Need Standards," Investor's Business Daily, February 14, 1997.