Obama: High School Education Not Enough

President Obama called on all Americans to commit to at least one year of higher education or career training Tuesday, as he stressed the importance of better schooling in reviving the nation's economy during his first address to Congress.

The president, arguing that a high school education is no longer adequate in the global economy, said the federal government just made a "historic investment" in education with its $787 billion stimulus plan. He said that while lawmakers and educators are responsible for making the system work, individuals are responsible for participating in it.

"So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training," Obama said. "This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma."

Obama lamented that just over half of Americans achieve an education beyond high school and warned of the consequences such trends could have on the country's standing in the world.

"We have one of the highest high-school dropout rates of any industrialized nation, and half of the students who begin college never finish," Obama said. "This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow."

He said his new goal is for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

"Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself -- it's quitting on your country. And this country needs and values the talents of every American," Obama said.