Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman in today’s Trenton Times:

“I find it deeply paradoxical that the United States has, without question, the finest colleges and universities in the world but a K-12 education system that is leaving vast numbers of students behind” she said, noting that one in four students drops out of high school or fails to complete school on time in the U.S., a rate above the average of many other developed countries.

“What is worrisome about these data, which have been replicated in study after study, is that the relative performance of U.S. students has been steadily declining over the past quarter century,” Tilghman said. “What is downright distressing is the fact that a student’s chances of being in the bottom quartile and never finishing high school are almost entirely determined by his or her family circumstances. Just consider the fact that the best predictor of SAT score is family income.”