·
In 2011, research showed that just
32% of 8th graders in the United
States were proficient in
mathematics, placing the U.S. 32nd
when ranked among the participating
international jurisdictions.
(Education Next)
·
Research shows that 25% of gifted
people are underachievers, and they
quit trying because nothing they do
leads to any measurable success or
satisfaction. (adapted from The
Gifted Kids Survival Guide: A Teen
Handbook)
·
As recently as 1995 America was tied
for first in college graduation
rates; by 2006 this ranking had
dropped to 14th.
(McKinsey & Company, The Economic
Impact of the Achievement Gap in
America
’s Schools)
·
The United States has among the
smallest proportion of 15-year-olds
performing at the highest levels of
proficiency in math. Korea,
Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, and
the Czech Republic have at least
five times the proportion of top
performers as the United States.
(McKinsey & Company, The Economic
Impact of the Achievement Gap in
America’s Schools)
·
Four-fifths (81%) of teachers
believe that “our advanced students
need special attention – they are
the future leaders of this country,
and their talents will enable us to
compete in a global economy.”
(High Achieving Students in the Era
of NCLB)
·
Nearly one
million students who start high
school every year don't make it to
graduation. At a time when federal
and state budgets are tight,
dropouts cost taxpayers hundreds of
billions of dollars in lost revenue,
healthcare, welfare and
incarceration costs. (NPR.org)
·
Only 11 percent of bachelor’s degrees
in the United States are in the
sciences or engineering, compared
with 23 percent in the rest of the
world and 50 percent in China.
(National
Summit
on Competitiveness)
·
China graduates about 500,000
engineers per year, while India
produces 200,000 and the United
States turns out a mere 70,000. (National
Academy
of Sciences: “Rising Above the
Gathering Storm”)
·
45% of new U.S. patents are granted to
foreigners.
(Education Week “A Quiet Crisis is
Clouding the Future of R&D”)
·
American students rank 25th in math,
17th in science and 14th in reading
compared to students in 27
industrialized countries. (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
·
Out of the national graduation rate
of 79%, only 56% of students
graduate from college within six
years of entrance.
(National Center for Education
Statistics)