Schools Report: Failing To Prepare Students Hurts National Security, Prosperity

Thirty years ago, a Reagan administration report warned of "a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people." The report, "A Nation at Risk," tied that mediocrity to the alleged failure of America's schools.

Fast forward to 2012, and the story hasn't changed, former New York City schools chief Joel Klein and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in a report provided to The Huffington Post slated to be released Tuesday. "The sad fact is that the rising tide of mediocrity is not something that belongs in history books," said the report produced by a Council on Foreign Relations task force they co-chaired.

The report, called the U.S. Education Reform and National Security report, argues for treating education as a national-security issue, noting that deficiencies in areas like foreign languages hold back America's capacity to produce soldiers, diplomats and spies. It calls for increased standards, accountability and school choice -- charter schools and vouchers -- to increase America's international educational standing.The report comes during a presidential primary season notably devoid of any specifics on education policy, a state of affairs Klein hopes to influence.

"Everyone should read this and say, why aren’t we talking about these issues in 2012?" Klein, now a News Corporation executive, said in an interview.

The report's language echoes that of "A Nation At Risk," making dramatic statements about the dire state of America's schools. "We took on this project because we believe that the crucial question for our generation is whether the American Dream becomes the American memory on our watch," Klein and Rice wrote in their introduction.

Read it at The Huffington Post

Schools Report: Failing To Prepare Students Hurts National Security, Prosperity

by Joy Resmovits