Grading the Economy - Candidates Link Education, Competitiveness

Up until about a month ago I was astonished and disappointed at how the presidential candidates had largely failed to draw the connection between education reform and our nation's economic competitiveness, even though the economy and jobs were repeatedly listed among voters' domestic concerns. After all, one certainly can't grow the economy or create new jobs without an educated population that possesses the skills to fill those jobs.

Fortunately for you and me, the tide seems to have changed. In the past several weeks we've seen candidates begin pivoting to education when answering questions about the economy, and following the ED in '08 sponsored release of the results from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in early December, which found that for the first time American students scored substantially below the international average in math and science, the urgency in candidates' language about education has risen.

Out of 30 industrialized nations, American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science, findings that have been echoed by the presidential candidates in stump speeches and forums across the battleground states. At ED in '08 we continue to communicate frequently with the presidential campaigns and I, for one, am relieved to find that their attention has been caught by this startling data. Just today, one candidate released a statement that makes it clear they believe that improving our schools is essential to our economic security.

In recent weeks, we've seen domestic issues rise to the top of voter's concerns as the first primaries approach. In a recent Washington Post poll, voters cited jobs and the economy as the most important issue in their choice for president, beating Iraq and terrorism for the first time since this campaign cycle began more than a year ago. But if our public education system continues to perform in the mediocre way it does now, American students will be left behind for the best jobs, damaging our economy and impacting us all.

Now it's promising that some candidates are tying education to the critical issues of economic competitiveness national security, and are committing to making education a priority in their administrations. However, I'm not satisfied just yet. I'd like to see all of the presidential hopefuls make it clear they get the connection, because any candidate who recognizes the impact of one on the other is a step closer to being the kind of leader America needs.