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By Kathleen Sebelius and Josh Anderson Americans have always placed great importance on public education, going back before the founding of the nation. Public schools have been the gateway to success for generation upon generation of Americans. But those schools now face challenges - challenges that cannot be resolved with minor changes. The first is the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires an intensive focus on basic skills in preparation for state assessment tests. Ample evidence exists to show that schools are eliminating programs and opportunities to redirect resources to these high-stakes tests. In reality, we may be jettisoning the very cargo that will save our nation - the humanities and sciences that often serve as the playgrounds of reading and math, encouraging innovation and creative thinking. These are being sacrificed in the name of "adequate yearly progress." The second challenge, the globalization of a digitized workforce, requires an intensive focus on advanced skills that cannot be automated or outsourced - advanced skills such as innovation, creativity and design. Yet graduates of our public schools are quickly realizing the most valuable skills in a global marketplace are the very same skills our schools are asked to forfeit in exchange for continued federal funding. If we are going to prepare students for the future, our schools must emphasize basic skills. But if we are going to prepare students for their future as citizens, we must emphasize advanced skills that go beyond what can be measured on a federal test. Few of us believe that we can adequately teach and measure both sets of skills within the present school system. In the last few decades, we are guilty of trying to solve our problems by stapling spaceship wings to a pioneer wagon and then wondering why we aren't moving faster. In reality, we saddle our teachers and children with sagging responsibilities that limit our flexibility and slow our growth. Our solutions to the educational paradox must go beyond traditional thinking and routine maintenance. Indeed, many may be surprised to learn that our nation now spends 240 percent more per student than it did in 1971 (after adjusting for inflation), yet the most recent achievement data released by the Department of Education reveals the lowest test scores in 20 years. The most jarring revelations are the percentages of graduates in our nation who possess advanced skills. Only 5 percent of our nation's graduates have advanced reading skills. A mere 2 percent have advanced math skills, and 2 percent have advanced science skills. The weight of our national ambitions in the 21st century cannot rest on the backs of a few kids. In our unending quest to leave no child behind academically, the United States may soon be left behind internationally. If we, as a nation, so readily accept the teaching and testing of basic skills as the absolute best we can offer to our nation's children, we must be equally ready to accept the bitter consequences of unemployment, crime, and national destitution. On behalf of the children and teachers in our nation's schools, we issue a challenge today. The time has come for each of us to engage in a national conversation about rethinking the structure of our national school system for the 21st century. Some will surely call for major systemic changes, while others will suggest small but important reforms. Every one of us knows, however, that we can create a better system. It is not a matter of details; it's a matter of conviction. |
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