U.S. Education Woes Threaten National Security, Report Says

The United States must improve its education system or risk imperiling national security and the economy, according to a new report from a blue-ribbon panel convened by the Council on Foreign Relations.

“U.S. Education Reform and National Policy,” the product of the 30-member task force chaired by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Joel I. Klein, former chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, cites statistics demonstrating the failures of the school system and recommends more school-choice efforts, an annual nationwide audit of educational achievement, and national standards in subjects such as civics and foreign languages.

Four commission members, however, dissented from those recommendations, outlining their concerns in dissents...