Although the presidential sweepstakes are just now moving into high gear, it�s already become apparent that any presidential candidate seeking to improve upon the country�s record of recent prosperity must commit himself to resolving an old problem that threatens both America�s present and its future.

That is, he must eliminate discriminatory practices and other disparities between schools in wealthy areas and poor neighborhoods that undermine equal educational opportunity for our children.

This is a problem of longstanding, of course. But it is being intensified by the educational catch-22 which is ensnaring too many children who are poor, and especially too many who are Black and Hispanic American.

They are trapped between lofty academic standards and perennially under-performing public schools.

They are in this trap because politicians and pundits rush to support ratcheting up the standards for promotion and graduation, but backpedal when it comes to supporting the high-caliber preschool programs and public education facilities necessary to lift poor and minority students to that higher plane.

This has produced the makings of a social catastrophe for America.

If Black and Hispanic children do not do well in public school, they will be pushed to the margins of a society in which education and the knowledge of how to learn will, more than ever, literally be the coin of the realm.

More than 90 percent of Black children and more than 75 percent of Hispanic children attend public schools, and most of them attend schools that are overwhelmingly Black or Hispanic and in poor neighborhoods.

In addition, if Black and Hispanic children do not do well in school, the America of the future�in which people of color will form an ever-increasing large share of the work force�will do less and less well in the global economic marketplace.

A quality education is the birthright of every American child.

But at all levels of government�federal, state and local�the enforcement of that inheritance has fallen glaringly short.

That�s why the National Urban League has just released the inaugural issue of our newsletter, "Opportunity Watch," and focused on the candidates� pronouncements, policies and track records on such educational issues as vouchers, education savings accounts, quality teachers, access to technology, and social promotion.

The candidates whose records we examined were: Gary Bauer, Bill Bradley, George W. Bush, Steve Forbes, Al Gore, Alan Keyes, and John McCain.

The Opportunity Watch newsletter is available on our web site, at www.nul.org., or by mail from our national office (212-5585438).

Its purpose is to grade the major candidates� policies and track records in the areas of our greatest involvement.

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, our goal is not to endorse any candidate. It is to provide a resource�a scorecard�that will help the Black community and the public-at-large become better informed about the candidates during primaries and the general election.

(Future issues of the Opportunity Watch newsletter will focus on health care, the safety net, economic policy and affirmative action.)

Our rating of the candidates on educational issues is based on five principles which are crucial for improving educational opportunity for those children who are the most "at risk" and for education generally.

They include ensuring universal access to high-quality early childhood education, and opposing such schemes as vouchers and tax-deductible education savings accounts, which shift public resources to nonpublic K-12 schools.

We also favor universal access to quality teachers and teaching; guaranteeing that all schools have the best quality telecommunications technology, and, finally, ensuring that states and school districts not end social promotion until they implement realistic plans for providing all schools with first-rate teachers and first-rate facilities.

Based on those principles, Al Gore totaled the highest score, a 13�out of 15�on our rating index. Bill Bradley scored 9, while George W. Bush and John McCain both achieved a 7. Steve Forbes scored a two, and Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes scored a zero.

Of course, there is not the space here to present even a cursory analysis of the various candidates� positions that our newsletter contains, which is why it is "must" reading.

Our intention there, and here, is to alert the public, and the candidates that their actions and statements are being examined and scores are being kept for the very best of reasons: to help build an informed electorate and to further educational opportunity.