Their changes tended towards individualized student attention, with more cross-disciplinary programming and greater emphasis on arts and extracurriculars.
The reforms instituted in the participant schools subsided within a decade of the study's end, owing to the more conservative political climate of World War II and the Cold War, the reforms' increased labor demands on teachers, and increased competition in college admissions.
Nevertheless, the study showed that the curricular structure of American high schools could change under propitious conditions.
Students blended formal and informal education in programs that included community service, group decision-making, and artistic productions.
The participants also reaped advantages from curricular resources (consultants, grants, publicity) that would not be afforded to similar efforts.
[4] Even as the Progressive Education Association's director trumpeted that multiple preparatory paths could lead to college success,[3] the reforms subsided in the participant schools within a decade.
Representatives from across the study met in 1950 and concluded that their schools had returned to fundamentals, focusing on mechanics of spelling over writing assignments and Carnegie unit preparatory regimentation over time spent on arts and extracurriculars.
[7] The Eight-Year Study showed that the curricular structure of American high schools could change under propitious conditions: when families and teachers held liberal ideology, colleges relaxed vetting mechanisms, and foundations offered support.