Over the past twenty-five years, the social, educational, and economic outcomes for black males have been “more systemically devastating” than the outcomes for any other racial or ethnic group or gender, according to this report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education. The report examines the disturbingly large gaps in graduation rates between black males and white males. It also highlights the resource deficiencies that exist in schools that black males attend.

Though slightly more of the Class of 2007 was found to be college ready in math than the Class of 2003, the majority still fell short of the ACT College Readiness Benchmark, according to this report by ACT.

After an upward trend from 1994 through 2002, improvements in the well-being of America’s children and youth have stalled, according to the 2008 Foundation for Child Development Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI). The index peaked right after September 11 but has dipped and risen by fractional amounts since then. Overall, the CWI shows less than a 3 percent improvement for kids over the past generation.

Although federal spending for children’s programs has increased in actual dollar amounts and as a percentage of GDP since 1960, the percentage of the federal domestic budget spent on children has decreased, according to this report from the Urban Institute and the New America Foundation. Looking ahead to 2018, the report finds that federal spending on children will continue to shrink as a percentage of domestic spending unless major adjustments are made to current policy and budget trends, especially if spending on entitlements continues to spiral out of control.

Only one penny of every new, real, nondefense dollar spent by the federal government over the past five years goes to children, according to this report by a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. In an analysis of how appropriations levels have changed for more than 180 federally funded programs that are geared toward children, First Focus finds that just 1 percent of all new spending since Fiscal Year 2004 is helping children.

According to this report from the National Commission on Adult Literacy, our nation’s failure to address the education and workforce skills needs of its citizens is putting the country in great jeopardy and threatening its standard of living and economic viability. The commission found that between eighty-eight and ninety million adults are not prepared to meet the demands of today’s global economy or secure a job that will pay a family-sustaining wage. It also found that these individuals face at least one “educational barrier to economic success:” eighteen million Americans do not have a high school diploma, fifty-one million have not gone to college, and eighteen million are not proficient in their English language and literacy skills.

Over the next two years, approximately two million children will be directly affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a report from First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. The report also finds that, in addition to being forced from their homes, children affected by the housing crisis also see their educations disrupted.

This report by the Center on Education Policy found that reading and math scores on state tests have remained level or increased and achievement gaps have narrowed since 2002, when the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted. However, the report notes, it is not possible to determine to what degree NCLB was a factor in these changes.

An estimated 1.23 million students, or almost 30 percent of the class of 2008, will not graduate with their peers, according to this report from Education Week. The report pegs the national graduation rate at 71 percent but finds that several states have graduation rates lower than 60 percent.

This report from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce highlights the fact that China, India, and other countries have large numbers of highly educated workers who are willing to work for lower wages. The commission concludes that the United States’ only chance to retain its competitive position is if it can offer companies highly educated, highly skilled workers and an important additional element: creativity. To reach this goal, the commission recommends a complete and total overhaul of its current education system that will require tough decisions and radical thinking.