larity among college students. In the early years of
the decade, dance parties known as raves, which
originated in the United Kingdom, spread across
the United States; Ecstasy pills on a massive scale
soon followed, sparking the resurgence of Ecstasy
use in America.
Raves and Ecstasy—as well as other mind-altering
“club drugs” such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate),
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), and ketamine—
essentially went hand in hand. By the mid-1990’s, Ec-
stasy had spread to high schools and was used fre-
quently by young adults. In response, the Drug En-
forcement Administration increased its efforts to
eliminate Ecstasy from the American drug scene,
but the use of Ecstasy among American youth con-
tinued to increase.
Impact Due in part to law-enforcement efforts to
eliminate Ecstasy from the American landscape, by
the end of the decade Ecstasy pills were lower in pu-
rity and increasingly adulterated with chemicals that
had negative physiological effects on the user. As a
consequence, emergency room visits due to Ecstasy
consumption increased nationally from 253 in 1994
to 4,511 in 2000.
Further Reading
Gahlinger, Paul M.Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to
Their Histor y, Chemistr y, Use, and Abuse.Las Vegas:
Sagebrush Press, 2001.
Goode, Erich.Drugs in American Society. 7th ed. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
Holland, Julie, ed.Ecstasy: The Complete Guide—a
Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of
MDMA.Rochester, Vt.: Park Street Press, 2001.
Alexander S. Bennett
See also Burning Man festivals; Crime; Drug use;
Lollapalooza; Medicine; Music; Tattoos and body
piercing; Weil, Andrew; Woodstock concerts.
Educate America Act of 1994
Identification Comprehensive federal education
policy; also referred to as Goals 2000
Date Signed into law on March 31, 1994
This act represented a major shift in federal education
policy to one that was focused on educational outcomes
and reforms that were standards-driven.
The Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227) was one of
several educational policies that was implemented
in 1994 (others included the School-to-Work Oppor-
tunities Act and the Improving America’s Schools
Act). The policy was based on three principles: re-
sults-based education plans would increase student
success, high educational expectations for all stu-
dents would improve student outcomes, and chil-
dren would perform best when provided with com-
mon expectations.
The act established eight educational goals. The
legislation specifically states that, by the year 2000,
(1) all children in America will start school ready to
learn; (2) the high school graduation rate will in-
crease to at least 90 percent; (3) all students will
leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demon-
strated competency over challenging subject matter,
including English, mathematics, science, foreign
languages, civics and government, economics, arts,
history, and geography, and every school in America
will ensure that all students learn to use their minds
well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizen-
ship, further learning, and productive employment
in the modern economy; (4) American students will
be first in the world in mathematics and science
achievement; (5) the nation’s teaching force will
have access to programs for the continued improve-
ment of their professional skills and the opportunity
to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to in-
struct and prepare all American students for the
next century; (6) every adult American will be liter-
ate and will possess the knowledge and skills neces-
sary to compete in a global economy and exercise
the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; (7)
every school in the United States will be free of
drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of
firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined en-
vironment conducive to learning; and (8) every
school will promote partnerships that will increase
parental involvement and participation in promot-
ing the social, emotional, and academic growth of
children.
In addition to the enactment of the goals, the Ed-
ucate America Act established national education
standards, provided grants to states to help in the im-
plementation of reforms, and authorized the devel-
opment of various boards and panels that would be
responsible for monitoring progress and establish-
ing and certifying standards. The act also provided
provisions to authorize waivers of requirements.284 Educate America Act of 1994 The Nineties in America