America’s education system is in trouble, but neither Republicans nor Democrats are up for the challenge of enforcing change.
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In 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the world with the launch of its Earth-orbiting Sputnik satellite. The United States, fearful of the security risk and hoping to make the nation more competitive with foreign powers, reacted with dramatic investments in science-and-technology education. In 1983, “A Nation at Risk,” the report published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, warned of a “rising tide of mediocrity” in American education that “threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.” The warnings helped spark a…