NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: In Education Olympics Politicians Promise Much but Fail at First Hurdle

As the U.S. falls behind in the quality of education, politicians are doing little to get it on track, certainly not when it comes to preschool

As we celebrate Team USA’s success setting world records and earning medals at the 2016 summer Olympics, we cannot escape the fact America has fallen off a world-class pace in education.

The United States used to be a world leader in college graduation. As recently as 1995 we were number one, but we have made relatively little progress since then while the rest of the world has picked up its pace. By 2014, we were 19th out of 28 developed countries — clearly not a medal contender.

At the other end of the education spectrum — preschool — which is my specialty, the United States has made little to no progress in the past decade and seems to be going nowhere fast while other countries have moved far ahead. Most developed nations now offer universal preschool.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/08/17/op-ed-in-education-olympics-politicians-promise-much-but-fail-at-first-hurdle/

W. Steven Barnett | August 18, 2016