The United States is facing unprecedented economic and intellectual competition from emerging countries around the world. China and India are the latest entrants in a long line of historical challengers to the American dominance in the global economy and in the areas of innovation and creativity.

This competition will not be decided on the basis of product price or tariff structure but in our classrooms and universities. While the U.S. is graduating fewer engineers and scientists, and even fewer young students are opting for math and science courses China and India are graduating 10 times as many engineers as we are and applying for more and more patents on new designs and inventions.

The implementation of No Child Left Behind legislation at the federal level has yielded both positive and negative consequences. There has been a valuable recognition of the importance of measurable performance standards and identification of achievement gaps but many states are gaming the system, effectively “dumbing down” the assessment process, to make their results look better, while rural areas of the country, like much of South Dakota, are affected negatively by virtue of NCLB’s urban bias and their lower population numbers.

We must find ways to build on the successes of NCLB and address the flaws. Education delivery systems must be updated and re-engineered for a new century and must be made accountable for results. An old style, bureaucratic model based on protecting the status quo for unions and system insiders must be exposed to competition so parents and students can respond in ways that will reward innovation and results.