America’s economic miracle has rested largely on rising education standards and better access to a quality education, which boosted our collective IQ by 30 points in the 20th century.
To achieve comparable economic success this century, and to prepare make our worker community ready to participate in the knowledge economy, mirroring last century’s IQ surge is a must.
Over the last decades, though, we have hit a snag. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, our report card has stagnated over the last 50 years. Two-thirds of our students are not proficient in subjects essential needed to support job requirements for this century’s evolving knowledge economy. Math, science, reading and writing are crucial tools for a 21st century job market. As our education proficiency has flattened our objective to raise IQs is severely diminished.
Psychological scientist Stuart J. Ritchie of the University of Edinburgh found “that, overall, adding an extra year of schooling in this way improved people’s IQ scores by between 1 and 5 points.” The more one learns, the higher the IQ. Conversely, the less one learns, the greater the likelihood of a lower IQ. Dropouts not only start their work career without a diploma but with less intellectual horsepower to compete for jobs. Imagine the effect on the student’s IQ with 12 years of poor education in a failing or underperforming school.
During the early twentieth century, education requirements increased from a primary education to completion of 12th grade or attendance at least through the age of 16. More education translated to an increased number of students capable of the rigors of college, junior college and/or technical trades schools.
America got smarter. Much smarter and more intelligent. The 30 additional IQ points were the platform for a changing job market that transited from a chiefly agricultural economy to industrial then information technology-driven economy.
During the 21st century, America is on education and IQ hold and likely has been for a half century. This IQ plateau is hampered by a floundering education system from Pre-K to 12th grade. Over the last six decades, tens of thousands of K-12 schools are underperforming, 8,000 failing and two-thirds of students are not achieving proficiency in math, science, reading and writing.
It’s not for lack of effort or good intentions that local, state, unions and federal governments haven’t delivered. Their effort, though, has not created good results. There is no reason, then, that parents and students in underperforming schools shouldn’t have the same and numerous options that rich parents do in the suburbs. It’s just not fair. Over the last five decades, combative politics has built a two-class education system, one for the haves and one for the have-nots. This is education inequality at its worst and shouldn’t be tolerated.
Education Enterprise Zones can help. Education Enterprise Zones will ensure that parents of students in failing schools have alternatives comparable to the numerous quality school choices wealthier parents send their kids.
The purpose of Education Enterprise Zones is to put the right to a public education in the hands of parents — not politicians, bureaucrats, and unions. The U.S. Department of Education will provide best practices culled from the best K-12 schools in America so that new education providers have a head start on good processes that have already succeeded across the United States. States may provide additional insights. Additionally, federal and state departments of education will deliver success benchmarks for each year so parents can measure the quality of their children’s progress.
Like an economic enterprise zone, an education zone will provide regulatory relief and investing for their children’s education that would otherwise be impossible in the current political climate.
For parents in states that do not wish to participate financially, the federal government would provide funding.
A diverse education market in our poorer communities will produce options for a good or great education, giving children most in need a better shot at their pursuit of happiness. And it will increase America’s collective IQ and economic output.
Tom Lewellen has spent the last 40 years helping medium to large businesses invest in solutions to implement best of breed enterprise solutions to improve their businesses.
