Education Reform Is a National Security Issue

How does a nation know when schools are not preparing students for jobs of the future?

When its own teachers say so. A new national poll released by the Walton Family Foundation shows that nearly 40% of teachers say that schools are not preparing young people for future careers.  

This is worrying. While students are excited by science and math – subjects that can help prepare them for future jobs – test scores show us that math outcomes are the lowest that they have been in decades. 

For the nation, the ramifications of poor student outcomes in math and science, or STEM, are significant, given the workforce needs of our growing technology economy and the reality that national security is underpinned by economic competitiveness. Indeed, limited STEM skills have spiraled into a pressing security issue, and the U.S. is simply not keeping pace with other countries, particularly China. 

These trends can be reversed. But the path forward requires not only refreshing our investments in what works for students, but developing new approaches that can transform our K-12 education system. In particular, Congressional lawmakers should fund an entity like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for education R&D that can develop new and creative ways to engage students in math and the sciences. 

A business-as-usual approach puts American security at risk. Specifically, our nation’s underinvestment in STEM education and career preparedness is crippling our ability to stay ahead globally. As experts gather at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado this week, they will discuss these concerns including a new report entitled “Re-Engineering American Security: Cultivating Talent for Competitiveness.”  

Published by Aspen Strategy Group, the report concludes that the “U.S. needs the national security community to weigh in on education as a national security priority.” It also highlights key potential vehicles for reform at the Congressional level like the National Defense Authorization Act, an initiative that has the potential to bring together both sides of the political aisle in ways that produce action.   

The report exposes the depth of the problems we face, and how deeply rooted those problems are. Part of the trouble is what students learn. Consider, for instance, the average math high school textbook. It prioritizes traditional subjects like trigonometry but neglects subjects needed for a career in technology like data science. Just as problematic, though, is the lack of effective and diverse teachers who have the proven tools and technical support to teach STEM topics. 

Finally, the report argues that far more needs to be done to invest in the type of R&D that will drive the development and deployment of education programs in math and the sciences. Specifically, the country needs to develop high-risk, high-reward STEM programs that can help America restore its reach and influence as a global player. 

As the Aspen Strategy Group report makes clear, R&D efforts that can drive high-leverage programs are key to elevating the U.S. global position. Most notably, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been instrumental to many “moonshot” developments including the Internet, GPS, speech recognition, and mRNA vaccines. The same playbook can work in pioneering new approaches in K-12 education, especially by harnessing recent breakthroughs in AI and data science. Innovative and testable ideas abound – like using Siri to identify reading problems or giving every student a personalized AI math tutor.  

While Congress has funded a modest DARPA-like education program, it has not yet authorized a full-fledged DARPA-like center for education. Along with the members of the Aspen Security Group report, including education expert Linda Darling-Hammond, I call on Congress to move on a bipartisan reintroduction of the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act that would officially establish such a center. 

Across sectors and throughout American history, R&D is known to help win big bets, ones that truly revitalize America. A commitment to funding big and bold ideas is exactly what we need to jumpstart reform of the U.S. education system, and to cultivate a new generation of innovative and competitive talent.