Domestic Intervention

While the current recession consumes the lion's share of intellectual energy on the part of politicians, industry leaders, and academics, it may also obscure a larger, more systemic problem. The state of US education has fallen so far behind other industrialized nations that it now threatens to alter our way of life. And it's unacceptable if we want to remain a world leader in industry and innovation.

According to a report released this year by McKinsey Consulting, the American economy has already begun to feel the effects of an undereducated workforce. From 1983 to 1998, the achievement gap between the US and countries like Finland and South Korea created a disparity in productivity that has shaved $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion off the US gross domestic product. As that gap widens, we can expect to lose even more wealth relative to the rest of the world.

Identifying the Problems

The McKinsey report cites the results of a worldwide exam called the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which measures the practical education and problem-solving skills of 15-year-olds throughout the 30-country Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2006, the US ranked 25th in math and 24th in science on the PISA program.