[Youth-list] The Perfect Storm according to ETS

[JMRab at aol.com]

AMERICA’S PERFECT STORM: THREE FORCES CHANGING OUR NATION’S FUTURE
Our  nation is in the midst of a perfect storm, according to ETS researchers 
-- and  the forecast is grim -- unless we invest in policies that will change 
our  perilous course. A new report from ETS's Policy Information Center looks 
at the  convergence of three powerful sociological and economical forces that 
are  changing our nation's future: substantial disparities in skill levels 
(reading  and math); seismic economic changes (widening wage gaps); and sweeping  
demographic shifts (less education, lower skills). There is little chance 
that  economic opportunities will improve among key segments of our population if 
we  follow our current path. To date, educational reform has not been 
sufficient to  solve the problem. National test results show no evidence of 
improvement over  the last 20 years. Scores are flat and achievement gaps persist. Hope 
for a  better life -- with decent jobs and livable wages -- will vanish 
unless we act  now. We must raise our learning levels, increase our reading and 
math skills and  narrow the existing achievement gaps, or these forces will turn 
the American  Dream into an American Tragedy -- putting our nation at  risk.
http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?
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Janice M. Gruendel, Ph.D.
Governor's Senior Advisor on Early  Childhood
Co-Chair, CT Early Childhood Education Cabinet
Senior Youth  Consultant
United Way of CT & Office for Workforce  Competitiveness
Home office: 203-481-9940
Blackberry: 203-824-4766
Mail  to: 28 Juniper Point
Branford, CT 06405

"...I hope  you never fear those mountains in the distance, Never settle for 
the path of  least resistance..And when you get a chance to sit it out or 
dance, I hope you  dance..." Lee Ann Womack. I Hope You'll Dance
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