Utah needs to rethink its entire education system

Those of you who think I am overly critical of public schools should take a close look at the latest ACT scores, which were released this week. Utah's scores didn't change much from last year, which hardly merits praise.

In math and science, the composite scores of Utah students were below the benchmarks that indicate students are ready for freshman college courses.

Are we satisfied with this? Is "mediocre" a good enough outcome for Utah schools?

And more importantly, will we continue to insist that the only answer to this problem is more money, which when it comes to schools in Utah, is like telling the folks in Pakistan that their answer to flooding is to acquire some higher land?

First, let's put the problem into some perspective. In Utah, 71 percent of high school graduates in 2010 took the ACT. These are the students most interested in attending college — the ones who, one hopes, would have geared their curriculum toward that goal.

It may be just as important to ask what the other 29 percent have planned for the future. A college degree is no longer optional for success in the world. The Department of Commerce reports that someone with only a high school diploma can count on earning an average of $27,960 a year, while someone with a bachelor's degree will earn an average of $48,100.

But that's only for those people who can find work. Many of the jobs experts predict will be created in the future will require at least a two-year degree. In a recent piece on Forbes.com, Joel Klein noted that in 1950, 59 percent of the U.S. work force was made up of high school dropouts and only 8 percent had college degrees. Today, the work force includes only 8 percent high school dropouts, while 32 percent have degrees. Sounds like a trend.

And to put it into an even larger perspective, the United States now ranks 12th in the world in terms of adults ages 25-34 who have at least an associate degree. Canada tops the list.

As many of you keep reminding me, statistics can be misleading. An associate degree in Russia (third on the list) may not be the equivalent of a similar degree here. But there is no denying that colleges and universities are spending a lot of time teaching remedial courses to incoming freshmen.

This is a nationwide problem. Jack Jennings, the president of the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy, told the Wall Street Journal last week, "High schools are the downfall of American school reform." They are traditional institutions that aren't equipping enough students with the skills they need to move on to college.