Challenges+Facing+the+United+States

From Networked for Learning ENA http://www.ena.com/Newsletters_Publications/white_papers.aspx
 * U.S. students are lagging internationally. Students from around the world are outperforming American students on comparative assessments that meassure compentence in 21st Century skills.
 * In a recent study, half of all drop-outs cited the fact that school was "boring" as the reason for leaving school: 81% said they would have stayed in schol if education was more relevant to the real world.
 * There are not enough educated and skilled workers to satisfy demand. At the same time, the people who are least prepared to compete in the 21st Century comprise the fastest-growing segment of the population.
 * Declining numbers of patents and scientific articles, as well as fewer numbers of students interested in math and engineering, indicate that US students are not aquiring the skills they need to keep the nation competitive in science and technology.
 * Eighty-four percent of employers say K-12 schools are not doing a good job of preparing students for the workplace; 55 percent say schools are defiecient in preparing students with basic employability skills(such as attendance, timeliness and work ethic); 51 percent cite math and science deficiencies and 38 percent cite reading and comprhension deficiences.