“Technology has the power to teach, to motivate, to captivate and to transform an ordinary classroom into a training ground for the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, and government leaders. Unfortunately, California school children have far less technology than they need to take their rightful place in tomorrow's information society. An estimated 60 percent of all jobs in the United States by the year 2000 will require a working knowledge of information technologies.”

“Even today, where would many workers be without a computer and the links it provides to information? Now, imagine how we are handicapping public school children by sending them to "work" each day without the tools many of us take for granted.”

“Surveys of California businesses indicate that the majority of 1997 high school seniors will graduate unprepared for the rigors of the workplace. Moreover, 12 years from now, when today's first-graders move into the job market or on to college, technology will be even more pervasive and sophisticated than it is today. What will the gap in job preparedness be then?”

“Our purpose in this report is not to build the case regarding the virtues of computers in the classroom. We're convinced. What we have taken on is the business of integrating technology into California classrooms -- by setting what we consider to be realistic goals for the process, assessing the cost, and proposing a pragmatic strategy for getting there.”

“We don't presume that technology is the only issue worthy of attention when it comes to public instruction. Many factors influence education policies: among them class size, teacher salaries, hours of classroom instruction, and adequate facilities. A discussion of these factors, however, is beyond the scope of this report.”

“Instead, our research has led us to the conclusion that, more than any other single measure, computers and network technologies, properly implemented, will bolster California's continuing efforts to right what's wrong with our public schools. While schools have made progress, much more still needs to be done. ”