Committee for Economic Development

High-quality K-12 education is a critical pathway to career and life success. Even prior to the pandemic, the US education system struggled to live up to its full potential to better serve all students. The pandemic's disruption has upended the nation's education programs and set back student learning, widened existing educational disparities, and placed K-12 schools under enormous pressure to chart a viable path forward. To strengthen the effectiveness of the education system for successful 21st century students and citizens, CED advocates providing K-12 students with opportunities to learn and practice in-demand skills as part of the standard curriculum; supporting high-quality career guidance informed by up-to-date labor market realities and relationships with potential employers; and, spurring innovation and competition by piloting and testing new and comprehensive educational models.