Without education reform, U.S. won't continue as world leader

There are justifiable arguments that the United States could lose billions of dollars in personal income as well-educated Baby Boomers retire and are replaced by workers with less education. Statistics show that high school dropouts earn significantly less than students with a diploma; the variance in earnings potential is about $20,000 versus $30,000 per year.

A report issued by the American Youth Policy Forum stated, "Obtaining a high school diploma is no longer sufficient for young people who hope to land a job that pays a family-sustaining wage in today's economy. Without some type of education beyond high school, most young adults will find themselves out in the cold in the current labor market."

In 2007, the average percentage of eighth-graders who reached the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) advanced international benchmark in mathematics was 2 percent among all participating countries. Although the U.S. had a 6 percent achievement rate, the mediocrity is apparent considering Taiwan, Korea and Singapore each exceeded 40 percent and Hong Kong and Japan were 31 percent and 26 percent respectively. Hungary, England and Russia also bested American students.

U.S. students had a 10 percent success rate in the 2007 TIMSS advanced international benchmark in science, well above the 3 percent median, but the aforementioned countries, plus the Czech Republic and Slovenia, again out-performed American eighth-graders with success rates as high as 25 percent.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) established the National educational Technology Standards Test (NETS) with standards that suggest fifth-graders should have basic keyboarding skills; eighth-graders should be able to identify computer file formats, such as spreadsheets and audio files, and be able to use them in class assignments; and high school seniors should know how to identify and fix advanced "hardware, software and network problems by using online help and other user documentation and support."

Sure, kids are handy with iPhones and computer savvy at surfing the Net for social attachments and downloading music, but most have no understanding of the technology that makes all those things possible. It's almost magical, but none of it is achieved through magic.

"The U.S. is, ironically, kind of leading this movement of talking about the importance of 21st-century skills, but in terms of the classroom, we're behind some of our competitors," said Ronald E. Anderson, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and member of the American Education Research Association.

Steve Andrews, manager of Intel's U.S. Teach program, remarked, "China, India, South Korea and Japan have invested in making sure that their kids have access to the technology and the literacy skills that they see as key to their economic future. But the U.S. has not given as much attention as the highest-performing countries around the world, which means our kids aren't getting the opportunity to compete."

During his First 100 Days press conference on April 29, 2009, President Barack Obama said, "We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day." He continued to say, "That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy."

The U.S. school year is currently 180 days; South Korea is 200 and Japan 243 days, which is comparable to an adult work schedule.

As with the youth of all nations, American students must be given the tools to seek the knowledge necessary to successfully compete in the global marketplace, but researchers have noted an overall mismatch between students' educational aspirations and academic qualifications.

It's been said that understanding the complexity of college admission, the course selection process, evaluating the costs of higher education and the academic requirements for college admission are as important to high school students as the learning process itself.

Career education should encompass a student's aptitude with his/her skills within the realism of job opportunities in the future global marketplace. The goal of education is to provide the student with the tools necessary to lead a productive, meaningful and secure life of employment, whether through four-year or two-year colleges, trade schools, apprenticeships or enlistment in the military. A high school diploma is a low standard.

With international scholastic assessments focused on eighth-graders, American students must realize their academic potential at an even earlier age to meet the challenges they will encounter in the competitive world of technological advancements.

Obama has been pretty crafty at whipping up health care reform. Without education reform and higher learning standards right now, and with a current graduation rate of 70 percent, the future of the United States as a world leader is questionable.