Measuring Up 2008
Thursday December 4, 2008
In 2000, the National Center For Public Policy and Higher Education started conducting evaluations of the state of education in our country and creating report cards on state and national levels. Measuring Up 2008 was released this week. So how did we do given the state of our current economic crisis?
Like almost any report card, we showed improvement in some areas and worrisome decline in others. Patrick Callan, President of The National Center, believes the widening gap between our nation and other advanced countries is cause for concern and immediate action because:
* Education and training beyond high school is a prerequisite for employment that supports a middle-class life. This is a reality for most Americans.What does all of this mean? It means that as our workforce (read baby boomers) ages, the most highly educated workforce in our nation's history, we don't have a base of educated young people to take their places. Too many students aren't being properly prepared for college. Too many don't have access or can't afford college. Too many who start college don't finish.
* Seventy-eight million Americans are reaching or approaching retirement age, and this is the best-educated generation in the United States—both currently and historically.
* As the nation’s demography changes, large proportions of the younger generations are among those who are least well-served by the U.S. system of education currently: those whose educational opportunity and attainment reflect the disadvantages of race, income, and geography.
If you're one of these, and chances are good you are, stand up and be counted. Find out what you need to do to further your education, to finish that degree you started years ago. Think of it as serving your country. A little dramatic? Maybe, but let's put our 20/20 vision to work now before we find ourselves in more trouble than we're already in.
Need a push?
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