Education Priorities Overview

An excellent public education system that helps all students reach their potential increases the competitiveness of our workforce, ensures the vibrancy of our communities and guarantees the future of our democracy. Effective business involvement in public education will improve student achievement and readiness for the 21st century workplace.

This section lays out the national business community's major priorities for achieving this goal: (1) Preparing more high school graduates for college and careers, (2) Getting more innovation workers in the pipeline and (3) Maximizing data-driven decision making. We also have provided a primer on the federal No Child Left Behind Act and business' role in advocating for the law in 2002 and for the potential reathorization in 2008.

You'll find background information on key challenges facing public education - and innovative policy ideas that address these challenges. You also can download fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations and other tools to help you build support among business colleagues, educators and the public to take steps to address the barriers to school improvement.