Clarify education goals so critical skills aren't left behind:
Employers highly value critical thinking, communication, technology and collaborative skills, but such skills go largely untested and sometimes untaught, writes Arnold Packer, a senior fellow at Western Carolina University and a former executive director of a special federal commission on necessary skills. Some states, like North Carolina, have started mandating that 21st-century skills be demonstrated to educators before graduation. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (11/06)