EQUITY EXPRESS FAST FACT: Education Helps Drive Our Economy

President Obama observed in the State of the Union that "the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education." We've long known that learning can lift individuals out of poverty, but two recent reports suggest that high-quality education for all builds national prosperity.

• A study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), "The High Cost of Low Educational Performance," links cognitive skills to economic well-being. A rise in scores on the Programme for International Student Achievement, OECD projects, would add $72 trillion to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the lifetime of children born in 2010.
• A 2009 McKinsey and Co. report found that closing the achievement gap between low-income students and others would have boosted our GDP in 2008 by as much as 5 percent.

To keep America competitive, we must ensure that all students receive a high-quality education.