For generations, Americans have worked to ensure that their children's lives will be better than their own. This core belief has remained strong even in a rapidly changing world, and a good education has long been considered the key to success. But millions of our young people are sitting in classrooms every day bored, unchallenged, and disengaged.
The consequences are tragic:
- Nationwide, three out of every 10 students who enter high school this year will not graduate in the typical four years. For African American and Hispanic students, the number is more than four in 10.
- High school dropouts are twice as likely as their graduating classmates to slip into poverty. In 2001, four out of 10 young adults who had no high school diploma got some type of government assistance. In 2004, nearly three-quarters of all high school dropouts didn't have jobs.
- Students who do graduate from high school still face a tough climb. About a third of all new jobs require at least some college. And seven of the 10 fastest growing job categories call for education beyond high school.
- Meanwhile, businesses report they can't find enough qualified workers. By 2020, the nation may face a shortage of 14 million workers with college-level skills.
Our nation's failure to ensure our young people have the knowledge and life skills they need to be successful undermines our most fundamental values of equality and opportunity for all.
Next: The Value of a Good Education