September 2008 — News
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Report: Sweeping Education Reform Needed To Bolster American Competitiveness
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A revamped 21st century education system is central to American economic competitiveness. Domestic and international economies have shifted. New skills are needed for the workforce. And there are significant achievement gaps to be overcome in order for the United States to be able to compete with the rest of the world. This according to a new report released today that calls on federal, state, and local policymakers to make a concerted effort to refocus K-12 education on 21st century skills.
"The nation needs to do a much better job teaching and measuring advanced, 21st century skills that are the indispensable currency for participation, achievement and competitiveness in the global economy," according to the new report, titled 21st Century Skills, Education & Competitiveness, which was sponsored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Ford Motor Company Fund, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and the National Education Association.
Among other things, it cites radical changes in the economy of the United States, along with the demand for a shifted skill set required for the new economy, as the major factors indicating a need for immediate action. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, there's been a dramatic shift away from manufacturing toward the service sector. Between 1995 and 2005, 3 million manufacturing jobs were lost, while 17 million service sector jobs were created. And as of 1999, the second-largest segment of the American labor force, according to another report, was in information services, at 41 percent.
And this shift has created a demand for a workforce with a different set of skills from what was required just a few decades ago. And the burden is on K-12 schools to develop these skills in today's students. But, at the same time, there are significant hurdles to be overcome. These include a continued gap in achievement between students who belong to various ethnic and economic groups, as well as an achievement gap between the overall student population in the United States and the student populations of other countries, as measured in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), in particular in the category of problem-solving or cognitive skills.
