Education attainment is the lynchpin of a productive and prosperous society. A young person who chooses not to finish high school makes a life-altering decision that limits his or her lifetime earnings and ability to succeed in today’s global economy. Dropping out of high school, as almost 7,000 U.S. students do daily according to the Alliance for Excellent Education, is the single biggest mistake a person could make. A high school diploma is not enough to meet the education requirements of the fastest growing new jobs, and continued employment and higher pay increases are more likely with additional education credentials.

 

U.S. economic performance and job creation require a workforce that possesses the skills and knowledge that employers need, particularly in STEM fields and fast-growing occupations that require STEM skills. But there is a mismatch between the education and skills that many Americans have and what employers need. Although more than 13 million U.S. workers are unemployed, businesses report more than 3 million open jobs, jobs that cannot be filled by previously displaced workers because of gaps in skills and training.

 

Despite the indisputable value that education provides, America’s education system continues to lag behind its peers. It is not that U.S. education is getting worse; performance is generally flat — and in some cases is improving. However, even in the areas where U.S. performance is getting better, it is not improving as fast as other countries, and American workers are falling behind their international counterparts in terms of education attainment. On international assessments of math and science achievement, U.S. students score significantly behind their peers in top-performing European and Asian countries.

 

A recent study of the highest-performing school systems, based on the standardized OECD PISA, shows that a central attribute of the best systems is the focus on the selection and training of teachers to improve the quality of instruction in the classroom. This study shows that top-performing systems typically recruit their teachers from the top third of graduating classes, are highly selective and, in some cases, pay for teacher training tuition and fees.

 

Moreover, high-performing schools systems do a better job of training teachers over their careers with a focus on building practical skills, coaching and best-practice sharing. Some of the higher-performing school systems spend substantially less on their education per student than lower-performing systems (e.g., the United States). Despite substantial (73 percent) increases in spending and many well-intentioned reform efforts in the United States (including class size reduction), actual student performance has not improved significantly in decades.

 

Reforms and initiatives supported by business and other leaders have produced some positive developments in education and workforce policy. Tools and resources have been developed that are helping focus reform efforts on better results. For example:

 

While these developments are positive, they are not enough. The high school dropout rate remains unacceptably high, and many who do graduate lack the skills needed to succeed in college or work; proficiency in reading, math and science remains unacceptably low; achievement gaps between racial, ethnic and income groups persist; and U.S. students’ interest and achievement in STEM are insufficient for future workforce demands. 

 

After decades of involvement in education reform initiatives by individual companies and organizations such as BRT, but only incremental improvement to show for it, CEOs believe it is time to take a fresh look at the changes needed to produce significantly better results. Incremental change that tinkers around the margins is not producing the results needed for individual success or national competitiveness. 

 

Based on benchmarking best policies and practices in the United States and around the world, BRT will focus on the following education and workforce issues in the next year: 

 

BRT will provide a business perspective on how the federal government can play a more effective, although limited, role in education and identify the work of best practice leaders that should be replicated. BRT CEOs will continue to work with Congress and the Administration to improve and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act — with an emphasis on higher standards, accountability, transparency and teacher quality.