23
Percentage of 17-to-20 year olds who fail the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, the entrance exam of basic skills for service in the U.S. military, according to an analysis of data released this week by the Education Trust.
29
Percentage of Latino military aspirants flunking the armed forces entrance exam.
39
The percentage of black armed forces aspirants unable to pass the military entrance exam. In five states — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Wisconsin — the percentage of black aspirants flunking the test exceeded this woeful average by at least five percentage points.
One in five
The ratio of white military aspirants flunking the entrance exam.
27
Percentage of military aspirants in Maryland — often perceived to be home to one of the best public school systems in the nation — who failed the military entrance exam.
60
Percentage of white aspiring recruits whose test scores flunked them out of qualifying for specialty work in the military that could prepare them for success in life.
79
The percentage of aspiring Latino recruits who didn’t qualify for specialty work in the military.
86
The percentage of African-Americans passing the exam who didn’t qualify for specialty military work.
Condoleeza Rice once declared to an acquaintance that education was the homeland security issue of this generation. While her declarations had more to do with her (mostly-unreasonable) concerns about outsourcing and dependence on foreign manufacturers, there is a true national security concern when it comes to education. When the nation’s army — an all-volunteer force — cannot recruit enough highly-educated young men and women to serve in the ranks, the consequences will be disastrous. An army of men who can’t read will be an army that will fail in combat. For poor men and women — especially in black, Latino and poor white communities — they suffer the greatest consequence of all: The closing of what has long been a gateway out of poverty and into the middle class.