On the recordSeptember 10, 1997
Sad story. And the problem is, we are graduating kids or kids are dropping out of high school; and whether we like to admit it or not, they will face a much more competitive marketplace out there for their skills. And if we have high school graduates who really cannot read at the fifth grade level or sixth grade level, we have placed them at a permanent disadvantage not only relative to other American students, but I think more importantly, as we move into a world economy, it places them at an enormous competitive disadvantage to students from Korea or Japan or Germany, Great Britain, and other industrialized countries around the world.
Source
govinfo.gov
