RELATED RESOURCES

Countless studies and reports have confirmed the importance of improving the performance of the K-12 education system in the United States. They also document the state of student preparedness for college and the workplace and gains being made in boosting college and career readiness on a state-by-state basis.

In this section, you can find links to those studies and reports as well as to organizations that are playing their part to improve American education.

• NAEP - The Nation's Report Card - National Center for Education Statistics
  This data center for the Nation's Report Card has data and analysis of the nation's most comprehensive and long-running standardized test. State profiles and comparisons can be accessed here, as can longitudinal data, sample questions, and briefs from NCES on the implications of these results.


• Center for an Urban Future - "Mobility Makers"
  This report from the Center for an Urban Future argues that increasing graduation rates from New York City's community colleges would provide significant economic boosts to both city and state.


• OECD - "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2011"
  OECD's Education at a Glance is an extensive resource of academic, economic, and other indicators for measuring the state of education internationally. The indicators focus on different levels of education systems, including individual learners and teachers, instructional settings and learning environments, educational service providers, and the education system as a whole. A profile specific about the United States can be found here.


• Globally Challenged: Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete? - Harvard Kennedy School
  This report from the Harvard Kennedy School examines proficiency levels on math and reading assessments from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for the high school graduating class of 2011. The report finds that "The United States could enjoy a remarkable increment in its annual GDP growth per capita by enhancing the math proficiency of U.S. students."


• The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 - World Economic Forum
  This report concentrates on examining international educational competitiveness. The report includes an index of competitiveness at the national level as well as a survey of business executives that looks at businesses' views of education and global competitiveness. The second half of the report includes country/economy profiles.


• Education and the Economy: Boosting the Nation's Economy by Improving High School Graduation Rates - Alliance for Excellent Education
  This brief notes that an estimated 1.3 million students across all fifty states and the District of Columbia dropped out from the Class of 2010 at great costs to themselves and to their communities. The brief finds that cutting in half the number of each state's dropouts for this single high school class could result in tremendous economic benefits nationally and lists the contributions that these 650,000 "new graduates" would likely make to the economy.


• Diplomas Count 2011
  The report-part of an ongoing project conducted by the Bethesda, Md.-based Editorial Projects in Education-tracks graduation policies for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and presents an updated analysis of graduation patterns for the nation, states, and the country's 50 largest school systems.


• The Fiscal Survey of States - National Governors Association
  This survey examines the overall health of each state's economy. It finds relative financial improvements for states, but aggregate state revenues remain below pre-recession levels. The slow economic recovery makes state education funding a continued target of cuts.


• In Focus: Teacher Effectiveness, Failing Schools, Data Systems to Data Use, College and Career Readiness
  This brief from the Institute for a Competitive Workforce examines the following issues surrounding the on-going national debate about high-quality teaching: the role and impact of collective bargaining, the development of state laws regarding teacher evaluation and the role of evaluation going forward, teacher compensation, and the impact of teacher tenure. The brief also considers turnaround models for failing schools, the transition from merely having data systems to actually incorporating data in classrooms, schools, and districts, and the implementation of the standards from the Common Core State Standards Initiative.


• The Ugly Truth: A State-by-State Snapshot of Education in America
  The Ugly Truth is a collection of fact sheets for every state and the District of Columbia that compares K-12 public education systems across nine categories. These categories include: Standards, Data Systems, Teacher Policies, Charter School Laws, Return on Investment, Graduation Rates, Student Achievement, Achievement Gaps, Dropouts' Effect on the State's Economy. Facts are compiled from NAEP results, progress made on Common Core implementation, and graduation rates. The snapshots provide stakeholders from policymakers to parents with the information they need to understand what their state is doing well and what could be improved.


• Life in the 21st Century Workforce: A National Perspective
  This summary of two independent studies conducted by the University of Phoenix and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce examines which skills and competencies employers consider critical for workforce readiness. These studies note that "soft skills" are in demand when employers are hiring and are critical for advancement in the workplace. During hiring, past work experience is valued at approximately 50% of the decision about whether to extend a job offer to a potential employee.