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If you are a student in kindergarten through 12th grade (or if you are a parent of one), you better get your head back into those school books rather than spending all your time texting, watching online videos and wasting time with social media. The latest data released from the College Board via the 2013 SAT Report on College & Career Readiness have evaluated SAT test taking and the results are pathetic. The cover of the full report (a PDF file) shows a bunch of teens mostly smiling, but actually they all should be shown scratching their heads or crying. With student debt at close to $1 trillion, some added focus needs to be made here.

The College Board’s 2013 SAT Report on College & Career Readiness indicates that less than half of all SAT takers in the class of 2013 actually graduated from high school academically prepared to handle college-level course work. While the number has been nearly static in the past five years, this is a true concern for the future of America in global competitiveness.

Perhaps you have heard of all the high-paying jobs that simply cannot be filled. It is real, and the poor state of the education system and the current quality of education just will not cut it. Go read “The World Is Flat” and see the takeaway about being born in rural America versus India. It is shocking, and it is truly a shame.

Some 57% of the students failed to meet the SAT benchmark, with only 43% meeting that benchmark. The report said:

Studies show that students who meet the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark are more likely to enroll in a four-year college, more likely to earn a higher first-year GPA, more likely to persist beyond the first year of college, and more likely to complete their degree than their peers who did not meet the benchmark.

Of the students who met the Readiness Benchmark, some 78% enrolled in a four-year college or university. Only 46% of those who did not meet the benchmark enrolled. Hopefully the image below will hit home for why all of this matters.