Today's students don't measure up to today's industry needs
By John Engler
Manufacturers place great stock in measuring - whether it's quality, output, profits or productivity. Business has long understood that improvement requires a measurable baseline from which to improve.
So when the National Assessment Governing Board (NAEP) released two 12th-grade reports from The Nation's Report Card two weeks ago, the National Association of Manufacturers took serious note of the results. We joined with NAEP in announcing the reports, which provide a new starting point for educational improvement. And as the disheartening results show, reinforcing manufacturers' own workplace experience, improvement is much needed.
According to the NAEP's reports, high school graduates are taking more challenging courses and earning higher grades during high school. Unfortunately, these efforts have failed to translate to higher achievement scores. In fact, the average 12-grade reading score was the lowest since 1992, and less than one-quarter of twelfth-graders scored at or above the proficient level in math.
These scores echo the critical "skills gap" manufacturers face in the workplace – an unprecedented and unmet demand for workers who command any level of manufacturing know-how.
Industry is an end-user of our education system, and that system's students simply are not making the grade. The implications are grave for the entire economy. Manufacturing is the critical link between innovation, the economy and our quality of life, generating nearly 60 percent of private sector research and development in America. Manufacturers are the engine of the American economy, driving not only innovation, but also creating countless jobs and generating the tax dollars for government services.
In a modern manufacturing facility, employees are more likely to calibrate with a computer than pound something with a hammer. We need young people who can adapt to the rapidly changing, high-tech workplace, employees who at the very least demonstrate a proven ability to read, write, do math and think analytically.
The NAM's 2005 Skills Gap Report found that more than 80 percent of manufacturers surveyed are experiencing an overall shortage of qualified workers. Many report that this shortage is seriously affecting their ability to meet customer demand.
America is never going to compete in the global marketplace on the basis of low wages. Our competitive edge must instead come from talent, innovation, smarts and skills. All those attributes begin with education.
When we see discouraging results such as those in the latest NAEP reports, we see a threat to competitiveness, and we see opportunity. As countries vie for access to talent from all over the world, it's more important than ever that the U.S. improve secondary science and math teaching to foster better student performance.
If our nation wants to make the grade, it must go back to the basics: take full stock of measured results, and begin the hard task to reform our education system and raise our standards in math, science and reading. It is time we take measure of our nation's commitment to educational achievement – take measure, and improve.
John Engler is the President of the National Association of Manufacturers and the former three-term Governor of Michigan.
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