Sam Dillon:

R. Craig Hogan, a former university professor who heads an online school for business writing here, received an anguished e-mail message recently from a prospective student.
“i need help,” said the message, which was devoid of punctuation. “i am writing a essay on writing i work for this company and my boss want me to help improve the workers writing skills can yall help me with some information thank you”.
Hundreds of inquiries from managers and executives seeking to improve their own or their workers’ writing pop into Hogan’s computer in-basket each month, he says, describing a number that has surged as e-mail has replaced the phone for much workplace communication. Millions of employees must write more frequently on the job than previously. And many are making a hash of it.
“E-mail is a party to which English teachers have not been invited,” Hogan said. “It has companies tearing their hair out.”

June Kronholz summarizes the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment, which finds that:

The percentage of top-achieving math students in the nation is about half that of other industrialized countries, and the gap between scores of whites and minority groups — who will make up an increasing share of the labor force in coming decades — is enormous.

Here’s the report. Slashdot discussion.