Guest blogging this week is Dr. Eric Smith, former Florida Education Commissioner and emeritus member of Chiefs for Change. Chiefs for Change is a coalition of state school chiefs and leaders who are committed to putting children first through bold, visionary education reform to increase student achievement and prepare students for success in colleges and careers.
The number one job of any state education chief is to ensure that all students in his or her state are well prepared for college and the workforce. And, in today's increasingly global economy, it is imperative that America's students are prepared to compete and collaborate with individuals from around the world. Unfortunately, countries like Finland, South Korea, Hong Kong-China, Japan and Singapore are beating the United States in international education rankings - not because America has failed to improve, but because we have not kept the pace of improvement that our international counterparts have set.
America's education crisis is not limited to one state or region; it is an issue the entire nation must address. That is true now and it was true in 2009 when I realized that education chiefs in every state were battling many of the same challenges I was in my home state of Florida, like the large number of students who weren't reading at grade level and the growing number of students who were not ready for post-secondary education when they graduated from high school. Too many of our students faced the reality that their K-12 public education systems did not prepare them for success in post-secondary education when they were told that they did not qualify for credit-bearing courses and were enrolled in remedial ones.
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