U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings didn’t pull any punches when talking about the performance of the nation’s high schools at a recent meeting of business, state education, public policy, and community leaders at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham.

“We know that 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require postsecondary education, but less than half or our students graduate from high school ready for college level math and science,” she said. “That’s unacceptable. A high school diploma should be a record of achievement, not a certificate of attendance.”

Other speakers expressed similar concerns that high schools must reform and do a better job of preparing students to meet the challenges of the “real” world. More than 150 high profile people who are concerned about the future state of the nation’s high schools attended the February 22 event, sponsored by New Jersey United for Higher School Standards and Educational Testing Service (ETS). They focused on one question: “Are our high schools designed to meet the needs of all students, while best preparing them for the challenges of the workplace and higher education?”

Prudential Financial, Inc. chairman and CEO Arthur Ryan, said that the nation had changed from an industrial to a knowledge economy. “We must redesign our high schools to reflect that change in our society, and to prepare our students for the new realities of work or further education.”