Robert Torricelli: “On the question of education in America, there are both those exhilarated by our progress and those who are frustrated…”

“On the question of education in America, there are both those exhilarated by our progress and those who are frustrated by our failures. It really is a tale of two cities: America has the finest universities in the world, the best colleges, proof that we know how to educate and build institutions. However, we have secondary and grade schools which simply, by any accounting, are not making the grade. Forty percent of our fourth graders failed to attain basic levels of reading; 40 percent of eighth graders could not attain basic levels of math; and 76 percent do not even reach proficiency levels. The fact is, we are not meeting an international standard. We are debating the fact that there is an educational crisis, but, if unaddressed, it will in our own generation become an economic crisis. The truth of the matter is, our country suffers some from a false sense of complacency.”