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• The U.S. loses $2.3 billion a yearin lost productivity from high school graduates who require remediation in reading and math in college and the workplace.
  The Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006
• 30 percent of high school studentsand nearly 50 percent of black and Latino students – fail to earn a diploma within four years.
  The Manhattan Institute, 2006
• The U.S. spends over $12,000per public school student each year – twice the international average – and yet only produces a high school graduation rate of 70%.
  Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2006
• Only nineteen statesrequire all high school students to complete a high school curriculum that will prepare all graduates for work and college.
  Achieve, Inc., 2007
• 58% of high school graduatessay high school did not fully prepare them for work.
  Achieve, Inc., 2005
• Over 80% of employerssay they experience difficulties hiring qualified workers; only half are satisfied with the skills of their current employees.
  National Association of Manufacturers, 2005
• Among fifteen year olds in 200323 out of 38 competitor countries outscored the U.S. on math literacy and 25 countries outscored the U.S. on problem solving.
  Program of International Student Assessment (PISA), 2003
• Only 20% of 12th-gradersscored at or above proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress science test in 2005.
  National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), 2005
• In the next five yearsdemand for scientists and engineers will increase at least 70% faster than the overall growth rate for all occupations in the U.S.
  National Science Foundation, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2006
• About 60,000 studentsearn Bachelors Degrees in Engineering in the U.S. and South Korea each year, even though the population of South Korea is only one-sixth the size of the U.S.
  National Science Foundation, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2006; CIA World Factbook, 2006