Education is one of the most critical social institutions that serves the needs of the society. It is an indispensable fabric for the society to survive and thrive. Education should be comprehensive, sustainable, and continuously evolve to meet the challenges of the fast-changing and unpredictable globalized world. This evolution of education, however, must be systemic, consistent, and scalable. Teachers, college professors, administrators, researchers, and education leaders are expected to innovate the practice of teaching, learning, and other aspects of education to deliver high quality preparation of all students to life and work.  

Innovation and evolution are needed for an individual, a nation, and mankind to survive and progress. Innovation in education are particularly important because education plays a crucial role in creating a sustainable future. In the words of Hoffman and Holzhuter, innovation is similar to mutation- the biological process that keeps organisms evolving to survive. Innovation therefore is an important instrument to create necessary and positive change. All socio-economic activities need constant innovation to remain sustainable. It is high time innovating education is made a priority among education leaders.     

Today the need for educational innovations is more important than ever. According to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, the pressure on nations to increase equity and improve educational outcomes for students is growing around the world. The pressure to innovate education in the USA comes from political, economic, and technological forces from both inside and outside the nation.

Social and economic well –being of a nation depend to a great extent on the quality of the citizens’ education. The transformation of information, media, and increasing specialization on organization’s end call for high skill profiles and levels of knowledge. Education around the world is required to be both effective and efficient to reach the goals set for them while making the best use of available resources.

More than any other country, education leaders in the USA recognize that critical renewal is required at all levels of education. Higher education needs to change and more innovation is needed to upgrade it. Arthur Foshay, in the book titled Innovation in Education, suggests, it is becoming imperative now to speak about change in education to make education leaders realize that revolution is in progress. It is inevitable for changes to appear wherever one turns in education.
The US education system, however, realizes, more than 50 year later, that the actual innovations and their implementation is too slow, as seen from the outcomes of school and college graduates. The results are far from what is expected in today’s world. Innovating education is a critical priority for nations.

Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Innovation and Improvement in the US Department of Education, explains, there’s little rational argument over the need for significant improvement in the US educational outcomes, irrespective of reasons. Over the last decade, the US has made limited improvements on most educational outcomes, considering the investments made in the sector over the said period.

The total cost of producing each successful high school and college graduate has increased significantly over the period instead of decreasing, what the education industry is calling an ‘inverted learning curve’. Innovating education is, thus, the need of the hour.
Educating leaders to think of ways to transform education is important to take education ahead. Education companies, leaders, policy makers, governments, student organizations, and all stakeholders of the education industry will need to come together to make education better and sustainable. Countries like the US need it more than ever.