SAT College & Career Readiness Underscores Serious Fear for the Future of America

The College Board’s 2013 SAT Report on College & Career Readiness indicates that less than half of all SAT takers in the class of 2013 actually graduated from high school academically prepared to handle college-level course work. While the number has been nearly static in the past five years, this is a true concern for the future of America in global competitiveness.

Perhaps you have heard of all the high-paying jobs that simply cannot be filled. It is real, and the poor state of the education system and the current quality of education just will not cut it. Go read “The World Is Flat” and see the takeaway about being born in rural America versus India. It is shocking, and it is truly a shame.

Some 57% of the students failed to meet the SAT benchmark, with only 43% meeting that benchmark. The report said:

Studies show that students who meet the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark are more likely to enroll in a four-year college, more likely to earn a higher first-year GPA, more likely to persist beyond the first year of college, and more likely to complete their degree than their peers who did not meet the benchmark.

Of the students who met the Readiness Benchmark, some 78% enrolled in a four-year college or university. Only 46% of those who did not meet the benchmark enrolled. Hopefully the image below will hit home for why all of this matters.