A dream deferred

Today, bells ring, students rumble into their rooms and classes begin. Chalkboards are covered with math problems, teachers' desks are strewn with finished essays. By the time the last bell rings, 6,000 students will drop out.

This exodus from education occurs every single day that class is in session. Sixty percent of these kids come from low-income families, and they will remain in the low-income bracket. But many of these dropouts will end up not needing to keep a job-68 percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school. Ironically, we spend more than twice the amount of money on these people once they enter prison than we do while they are in school.

Dropouts are more likely than not to be poor. Thus they are more likely to require government funding in the form of food stamps, housing assistance and medical aid. Each class of 18-year-olds that does not ascend the stage to receive diplomas costs this nation $192 billion in income and tax revenue. And it's a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle that feeds on the child from the moment of birth into poverty.

We grow up learning about the American dream and how everyone can succeed in this country. If you go to a good school, you may be exposed to the narratives of Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass. If you go to a very good school, you may be asked to write an essay about what the American dream is.

But in order to learn from these compelling stories, students have to be able to read. Out of all fourth graders in the United States, 32 percent have proficient reading skills. By the eighth grade, this number drops to 29 percent. Only 15 percent of low-income students attain reading proficiency. Blacks and Hispanics do even worse. Franklin, Equiano and Douglass overcame impossible odds in their day. Now, in the 21st century, not only do being poor and having a darker skin color still impede educational opportunity, but so does being American.

In an international science test, American students ranked 25th of 30 nations. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 32 percent of eighth graders are proficient in math, but only 17 percent of low-income students are. A poverty and race gap exists in this country, but even in a room of 50 white students, 29 are not very good at math by American testing standards. American mathematics education standards are about two years behind our competition. Even those students who do well in the United States are being hurt by weaker standards and expectations. We have set up our children to fail.

The United States has been on top of the world for a long time. Fueled by a passion for science, an understanding of the importance of mathematics and an intense competition with the Soviet Union, we used to have one of the best education systems in the world. But we have grown complacent. It's OK if the kid can't divide very well, it's all right if the child struggles with words of more than three syllables, it's acceptable if the student can't write effectively. Just push them through the system and maybe some other teacher or parent or employer will teach them. Some students can't handle the pressure or the futility and, in the end, 1.2 million students drop out of this failing system every year.

In developing countries, people are willing to work menial jobs for lower wages than those in America. The college degree is becoming increasingly important in finding a job in this country. Two thirds of new jobs require a college education or some form of advanced training. It only makes sense that 44 percent of college dropouts under the age of 24 are unemployed. And as the economies of other nations improve, the U.S. education system will have to train its students better as the types of jobs able to be done abroad for cheaper will increase in number.