Academic Achievement: It Really Matters
A new international study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found that a rise in test scores, even a relatively modest rise, has important consequences for the economy. Were a rise in student achievement to occur, the analysis projects that the nation could see growth of nearly $41 trillion in its GDP.
Over the coming decade, this could mean tens of trillions of dollars. As Andreas Schleicher, the head of the analysis commented, “There’s almost a one-to-one match between what people know and how well economies have grown over time...It’s not the quantity of schooling that drives success in countries, it is the quality of [learning] outcomes that we see that is explaining the relationship.”
The message is one that offers both good news and bad news. On the one hand, it highlights a practical and valuable path to help us out of the economic crisis. On the other hand, it shows how the poor performance of the US on major indicators of academic achievement is a huge handicap that must be overcome if we are to prosper.
