U.S. Chamber of Commerce Report Card on Education
Report: U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Report Card on Education
Authors: Brown, Cynthia G.; Rocha, Elena; Hess, Frederick M.; Boser,
Ulrich; Thomassie, Juan; Wildavsky, Ben
Date: 2007
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, their recent bipartisan report
on state educational effectiveness shows that America's K-12 schools are failing
their students and putting America's future competitiveness at risk. "We
are not making the grade when it comes to preparing students for their future,"
said Tom Donohue, Chamber president and CEO. "Without real leadership
in education reform, our economic future and prosperity are at risk. If companies
were run like many education systems, they wouldn't last a week." "Leaders
and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness"
graded all 50 states and Washington, DC, on nine broad categories including
academic achievement, return on investment, truth in advertising, rigor of
standards, and data quality. The report and accompanying recommendations for
reform were prepared with John Podesta, CEO of the Center for American Progress
and former Clinton White House chief of staff, and Frederick M. Hess, director
of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute. They are available
online at on the website.
Among the findings and points discussed in the report:
In response to the report, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
made the following comments: "With this report, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
and the Center for American Progress add an important voice to the ongoing
dialogue on strengthening our nation's education system -- how to improve
student achievement, get the best teachers into the most challenging classrooms,
and improve the data quality to further customize instruction. Bottom line:
we need to pick up the pace. We have a lot of work to do."
