U.S. Education Reform and National Security and National U.S. Education Reform CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports offer analysis and policy prescriptions for major foreign policy issues facing the United States, developed through nonpartisan deliberations that aim to reach consensus. Task Force Members Carole Artigiani Joel I. Klein Global Kids, Inc. News Corporation Craig R. Barrett Wendy Kopp Intel Corporation Teach For America Richard Barth Jeffrey T. Leeds KIPP Foundation Leeds Equity Partners, LLC Edith L. Bartley Julia Levy UNCF Culture Craver Gaston Caperton Michael L. Lomax The College Board UNCF Linda Darling-Hammond Eduardo J. Padrón Stanford University Miami Dade College Jonah M. Edelman Matthew F. Pottinger Stand for Children China Six LLC Roland Fryer Jr. Laurene Powell Jobs Harvard University Emerson Collective Ann M. Fudge Condoleezza Rice Ellen V. Futter Hoover Institution Independent Task Force Report No. 68 American Museum of Natural History Benno C. Schmidt Preston M. Geren Avenues: The World School Sid W. Richardson Foundation Stanley S. Shuman Joel I. Klein and Condoleezza Rice, Chairs Allen & Company LLC Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Julia Levy, Project Director Allan E. Goodman Leigh Morris Sloane Institute of International Education Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs Frederick M. Hess No. 68 Report Force Task Independent American Enterprise Institute for Margaret Spellings Public Policy Research Margaret Spellings and Company Shirley Ann Jackson Stephen M. Walt U.S. Education Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Harvard Kennedy School Kay King Randi Weingarten King Strategies American Federation of Teachers Reform and www.cfr.org National Security U.S. Education Reform and National Security Independent Task Force Report No. 68 Joel I. Klein and Condoleezza Rice, Chairs Julia Levy, Project Director U.S. Education Reform and National Security The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business execu- tives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. 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This report may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form beyond the reproduction permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law Act (17 U.S.C. Sections 107 and 108) and excerpts by reviewers for the public press, without express written permission from the Council on Foreign Relations. This report is printed on paper that is FSC® certified by Rainforest Alliance, which promotes environmen- tally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Task Force Members Task Force members are asked to join a consensus signifying that they endorse “the general policy thrust and judgments reached by the group, though not necessarily every finding and recommendation.” They par- ticipate in the Task Force in their individual, not institutional, capacities. Carole Artigiani* Ellen V. Futter* Global Kids, Inc. American Museum of Natural History Craig R. Barrett Intel Corporation Preston M. Geren Sid W. Richardson Foundation Richard Barth KIPP Foundation Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Edith L. Bartley Allan E. Goodman UNCF Institute of International Education Gaston Caperton Frederick M. Hess The College Board American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Linda Darling-Hammond* Stanford University Shirley Ann Jackson* Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Jonah M. Edelman* Stand for Children Joel I. Klein News Corporation Roland Fryer Jr. Harvard University Wendy Kopp Teach For America Ann M. Fudge *The individual has endorsed the report and signed an additional or dissenting view. v vi Task Force Members Jeffrey T. Leeds Benno C. Schmidt Leeds Equity Partners, LLC Avenues: The World School Julia Levy Stanley S. Shuman Culture Craver Allen & Company LLC Michael L. Lomax Leigh Morris Sloane UNCF Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs Eduardo J. Padrón Miami Dade College Margaret Spellings Margaret Spellings and Company Matthew F. Pottinger China Six LLC Stephen M. Walt* Harvard Kennedy School Laurene Powell Jobs Emerson Collective Randi Weingarten* American Federation of Teachers Condoleezza Rice Stanford University Contents Foreword ix Chairs’ Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Task Force Report 1 Introduction 3 The Education Crisis Is a National Security Crisis 7 The State of Education in the United States Today 14 The Skills and Knowledge Needed for Tomorrow 41 Recommendations 44 Conclusion 56 Additional and Dissenting Views 60 Endnotes 70 Task Force Members 78 Task Force Observers 94 Foreword It will come as no surprise to most readers that America’s primary and secondary schools are widely seen as failing. High school graduation rates, while improving, are still far too low, and there are steep gaps in achievement between middle-class and poor students. Even in the midst of high unemployment rates, business owners are struggling to find graduates with sufficient skills in reading, math, and science to fill today’s jobs. School districts, teachers’ unions, and parents are engaged in fierce debates over the best way to rein in climbing costs and improve standards. Meanwhile, progress is frustratingly slow, if in fact what is taking place represents progress at all. The domestic consequences of a weak education system are rela- tively well known. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) made the decision to sponsor this Task Force to address the less well known— yet equally sobering—national security repercussions. In 2011, CFR launched its Renewing America initiative, which examines domestic issues such as infrastructure, energy security, and the federal deficit that affect the United States’ ability to conduct foreign policy and com- pete economically. Education is a critical component of this initiative. A world-class education system is vital to preserving not just the coun- try’s physical security but also to reinforcing the broader components of American leadership, such as economic dynamism, an informed and active democracy, and a coterie of informed professionals willing and able to live and serve around the world. In international tests of literacy, math, and science, American stu- dents rank far below the world’s leaders in Finland, South Korea, and Shanghai. They spend fewer years studying a more limited range of for- eign languages than students in most other wealthy countries and just 1.4 percent of them study abroad, mostly in Europe. Significant majori- ties of young Americans are unable to identify strategically or politi- cally important countries, such as Iraq or Afghanistan, on a map of the world; enrollment in civics and government classes