According to Daria Hall, with the education trust, a group that advocates for equal educational opportunity, “there are a whole lot of young people wildly unprepared.” This evaluation is in response to the NAEP assessment’s latest report, showing that of the 92,000 students tested for math or reading, 74% were below grade level in math and only 4-out-of-10 high school seniors could read at or above grade level. “Wildly unprepared” is obviously not an exaggeration. Graduating without a basic high school level competency in math and reading seems to have become the norm rather than the exception. And the figures are worse for the nations minorities, English as second language students, and low-income students.

If this type of result doesn’t clearly show the need for a new approach in educating our nations children, then what would? Failing our future in not providing the most basic tools for success in life is inexcusable. Whether heading to college or the workforce, what chance does America’s youth have of being the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, or leaders. How many of our state, local, or national leaders, business, technology, medical leaders, you name it, how many of them do you think were able to graduate high school with markedly lower than a 12th grade reading level, and still go on to achieve the things they have in life?

This is the most basic reason to support and enact a change in the way our youth is being educated in this country. We here at Kloiber Foundation are doing what we can to support innovative, common sense change in a system that can be easily judged on its results.