America Wants to Be Number One—Except in the Classroom 

American leaders constantly talk about being number one. 

We want the strongest military in the world. We want the largest economy. We want to lead the world in artificial intelligence, manufacturing, technology, space exploration and national defense. Presidents from both political parties regularly speak about maintaining American global leadership and ensuring that no other country surpasses the United States. 

But there is one area where the demand to be number one seems strangely less urgent: the education of America’s children—particularly mathematics. 

If America truly intends to remain the world’s leading economic and technological power, we should be asking a simple question: Why aren’t American students number one in mathematics? 

According to the OECD’s 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment, better known as PISA, American 15-year-olds scored an average of 465 points in mathematics, compared with the OECD average of 472. Singapore scored 575, the highest score in the world. Macao (China) scored 552, Chinese Taipei 547, Hong Kong 540, Japan 536 and South Korea 527. (oecd.org⁠) 

America isn’t close to number one. 

That should concern every American, regardless of political party. 

The OECD also reports that 34 percent of American students did not achieve even Level 2 proficiency in mathematics. By comparison, more than 85 percent of students in Singapore, Macao, Japan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Estonia reached at least that level. (oecd.org⁠) 

Think about what these numbers mean. 

The global competition of the 21st century will increasingly revolve around artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, computer science, semiconductors, quantum computing, finance and other mathematics-intensive industries. 

We cannot seriously talk about winning the technological competition of the future while accepting mediocre mathematics performance from our children. 

$1.5 Trillion for Defense 

The contrast becomes even more striking when we examine America’s spending priorities. 

The administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget requests approximately $1.5 trillion in total national-defense resources. According to the White House budget documents, the proposal includes about $1.15 trillion in base defense discretionary programs plus approximately $350 billion in additional mandatory funding. (whitehouse.gov⁠) 

To be clear, that $1.5 trillion is a budget request, not yet the amount Congress has ultimately appropriated and spent. 

Nevertheless, the number tells us something about national priorities. 

Now compare it with public education. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, America’s public elementary and secondary school systems spent approximately $983.7 billion in fiscal year 2024. Of that amount, about $842.3 billion represented current spending. (test.census.gov⁠) 

Therefore, using the Census Bureau’s measure, the proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget would be substantially larger than the approximately $984 billion recently spent by all of America’s public elementary and secondary school systems combined. 

And there is an even more important distinction. 

The $1.5 trillion defense proposal is principally a federal national-defense commitment. Public education, by contrast, is financed largely by states and local communities. 

In FY2024, state governments provided approximately $450 billion of public-school revenue, local sources provided about $430 billion, and the federal government contributed approximately $115 billion. (test.census.gov⁠) 

In other words, America’s communities and states carry most of the financial responsibility for educating America’s children, while Washington is prepared to mobilize extraordinary sums for national defense. 

That raises a fundamental question: 

What do we consider national security? 

Education Is National Security 

Aircraft carriers are important. Fighter aircraft are important. Missile-defense systems are important. A strong military is necessary in a dangerous world. 

But who is going to design the next generation of those systems? 

Mathematicians. 

Engineers. 

Computer scientists. 

Physicists. 

Programmers. 

Technicians. 

Researchers. 

A country cannot maintain technological and military superiority indefinitely if its educational foundation deteriorates. 

Perhaps we need to broaden our definition of national defense. 

A child learning algebra in Iowa, physics in Georgia, computer science in California or calculus in Detroit may contribute just as much to America’s long-term national security as another weapons system. 

The greatest strategic asset America possesses is not underneath the wings of a bomber or inside a missile silo. 

It is inside the minds of our children. 

We Already Spend Enormous Amounts on Education 

However, simply throwing additional money at education isn’t the answer either. 

America already spends an enormous amount. 

The Census Bureau reports nearly $1 trillion in annual public elementary-secondary expenditures. So our mathematics problem cannot simply be explained by claiming America refuses to spend money on schools. (test.census.gov⁠) 

The harder question is whether we are spending that money effectively. 

If Singapore can produce a mathematics score of 575 while America produces 465, American policymakers should be studying what Singapore is doing differently. (oecd.org⁠) 

We should examine mathematics curricula, teacher preparation, classroom discipline, tutoring, vocational education, parental expectations, instructional time and the cultural importance placed on academic achievement. 

We should study successful practices wherever they exist—Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Estonia or American schools that consistently outperform expectations. 

That isn’t copying another country. 

That is competition. 

American businesses constantly study their competitors. The military studies foreign military capabilities. Coaches study opposing teams. 

Why wouldn’t American educators study the world’s highest-performing educational systems? 

The New Arms Race Is Intellectual 

During the Cold War, the launch of Sputnik shocked the United States. Americans feared that the Soviet Union was gaining a technological advantage. 

America responded by investing heavily in science, mathematics, engineering and research. 

We need that sense of urgency again. 

The next great international competition will not simply be measured by who possesses the most tanks, ships, missiles or military bases. 

It will be measured by who possesses the greatest concentration of human knowledge and technical capability. 

The nations that dominate mathematics, science, engineering, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing will possess enormous economic and geopolitical advantages. 

That makes mathematics education an economic-development policy. 

It makes mathematics education a national-security policy. 

And it makes mathematics education an American competitiveness policy. 

Where Are Our Priorities? 

America has every right to want to be number one. 

But being number one cannot simply mean having the world’s most powerful military. 

We should want the number-one students. 

We should want the number-one mathematics education system. 

We should want the number-one science education system. 

We should want the best-trained teachers, the strongest vocational programs, the most innovative entrepreneurs and the most technologically capable workforce on Earth. 

If America’s leaders are prepared to request $1.5 trillion for national defense, they should demonstrate comparable urgency about the intellectual development of the next generation. 

The question isn’t whether America should choose education instead of national defense. 

The question is whether we finally recognize that education is part of national defense. 

A nation can purchase another fighter aircraft. 

It can manufacture another missile. 

It can build another aircraft carrier. 

But America cannot purchase its way out of a generation that has not been adequately prepared in mathematics, science, technology, financial literacy and critical thinking. 

If America truly wants to remain number one in the world, then the competition must begin long before the battlefield. 

It begins in the classroom. 

And until America’s leaders become as concerned about our position on the international mathematics rankings as they are about our position in the international military rankings, we need to keep asking one uncomfortable but necessary question: 

Where are our priorities?