"No doubt. And instead of coming straight from a textbook, more orally, because a textbook is kind of boring," said Christian, an incoming senior at Louisville's Iroquois High School.

Noe Middle School eighth-grader Breona Trice thinks the future of schools is technology. "I think it will be more, like, up-to-date, very technological," said Breona, 13.

And Ryan Callahan, 10, who will be a fifth-grader at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School, thinks schools will be bigger, have more students and not have a chalkboard in sight.

"And the teachers will be a lot nicer -- I hope, " he said.

Education is always in flux, as new methods are tried and old methods recycled. But the cacophony for change has grown along with heightened concerns -- in Kentucky and nationally -- about low student achievement, high dropout rates and the need to better prepare U.S. students to compete in the 21st century.

It is a focus that has drawn comparisons to the United States' reaction to the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of Sputnik.

That event led to a call for an increased emphasis on math, science and foreign language in schools, and passage of the 1958 National Defense Education Act, which set aside $1 billion for college loans, scholarships and scientific equipment in schools.

Today, business leaders such as Microsoft's Bill Gates have sounded a similar alarm, especially for high schools, calling them "obsolete" and in need of an overhaul.

The alarm also is sounding in Kentucky.

"I don't think we need to panic, but I do think we need to wake up," said Cindy Heine, associate director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an advocacy group based in Lexington.

"I think if we look at what is coming out of our high schools, and how many kids are dropping out, and the skills that they have or don't have, it doesn't matter what China does or anyone else does. We need to be doing a lot better."

Educators and government and business leaders say that expectations need to be raised for all students, that lessons and curriculums need to be engaging and resonate with students' interests and career goals, and that parents need to be more involved.

Reporter Nancy Rodriguez can be reached at (502) 582-7079.