The nation's leaders now have an additional reason to argue for high school reform at the National level. According to a new report issued by The Education Trust, "Military careers have provided generations of Americans with pathways to successful adulthood as well as honor, discipline, and achievement. Unfortunately, today too many high school graduates who seek the opportunity to serve don’t make the cut. Just as secondary schools are failing to prepare many students for college and civilian careers, so too are they failing to prepare young men and women—particularly young people of color—for military service." Unfortunately the report also presents evidence that an "achievement gap" or the fact that "when young people of color pass the enlistment test they, on average, do so with lower scores than do white candidates" persists even at this level. Will yet another national report about the lack of career, college or military readiness of high school graduates make a difference? It is hard to ignore the statistics presented in this report as they do have a major bearing on the readiness of high school graduates to serve in our military forces. Perhaps this will be the "wake up call" that we need at the national level to stimulate sincere action to reduce the achievement gap and increase high school graduation rates in the U.S..The nation's leaders now have an additional reason to argue for high school reform at the National level. According to a new report issued by The Education Trust, "Military careers have provided generations of Americans with pathways to successful adulthood as well as honor, discipline, and achievement. Unfortunately, today too many high school graduates who seek the opportunity to serve don’t make the cut. Just as secondary schools are failing to prepare many students for college and civilian careers, so too are they failing to prepare young men and women—particularly young people of color—for military service." Unfortunately the report also presents evidence that an "achievement gap" or the fact that "when young people of color pass the enlistment test they, on average, do so with lower scores than do white candidates" persists even at this level. Will yet another national report about the lack of career, college or military readiness of high school graduates make a difference? It is hard to ignore the statistics presented in this report as they do have a major bearing on the readiness of high school graduates to serve in our military forces. Perhaps this will be the "wake up call" that we need at the national level to stimulate sincere action to reduce the achievement gap and increase high school graduation rates in the U.S..