From The Desk Of Jeb Bush

Dear Friends,

I believe in a strong America; an America that is the definitive beacon of opportunity, an America that is the global leader in economic prosperity, an America that has the most competitive workforce in the world.

But the daunting truth is that we are not that America. We are falling behind. We have to do better, for our children, and for generations to come who deserve a revived, strong nation.

Yesterday, results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) were released. The assessment compares 15 year olds from developed countries across the globe in math, science and reading. The results point to a jarring reality we all need to face in our country: our education system is not equipping our children for the competitive workforce.

Other countries are making faster progress. U.S. teenagers are now ranked 26th in math, 21^st in science, and 17^th in reading. Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong are leading the pack, while countries like Poland and Ireland surpassed us for the first time.

There is no excuse in the book to justify our performance on the world stage. We are in a competitive 21^st century and it’s time we start preparing our kids to compete. Without adequately preparing our kids with the fundamental skills needed in school, how can we expect them to go on and contribute to a vibrant workforce? We need to do better.

Yesterday’s results dramatically underscore the need for higher, internationally benchmarked standards and a focus on foundational skills in K-12 education. We accomplish this by holding schools accountable for performance and providing teachers with the supports they need to help students meet these higher expectations. This improves our children’s opportunity to achieve success in school, college, career, and life, thereby preparing them to successfully compete with their peers around the globe.

However, we do see a positive outcome in the PISA results that reaffirms my core belief: all students can and will learn when education is focused on them. Massachusetts participated for the first time in the international benchmarking system and received separate scores. Massachusetts’s average scores were higher than both the U.S. and global average scores in all three subjects. The reason Massachusetts out performs not only the rest of America but other countries? Reform works. In 1993, Massachusetts adopted a bold package of education reforms to transform the failing status quo and focus the system on students’ learning. They implemented rigorous standards and achievement tests that students have to pass to graduate.

Today other states are following their lead and it couldn't come at a more critical time.

I hope that you will join me in this mission of giving every child in America a quality education. Your voice has a significant impact. Here’s how you can do your part to guarantee a strong America: