People dream of coming to America—we have freedom, money, big houses, nice cars, and live out the American dream. A good education used to go along with all that but recent test scores show that education is one department that the U.S. is really falling behind in.
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests students in math, science, and reading and then compares the results to students in other countries. Students are selected at random to participate in the test and generally 4,500 students from each of the participating countries take the test. “The U.S. came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated,” according to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
PISA SCORES:
Math: China 600, Germany 513, U.S. 487 (31st place)
Reading: China 556, Korea 539, U.S. 500 (17th place)
Science: China 575, Finland 554, U.S. 502 (23rd place)
According to Newsweek Magazine, the children in our schools today will be the first generation of Americans who will be less educated than the previous generation. Take a moment and reread the last sentence. Scary, right? What is the future of our country?
While the scores from the PISA test show that our education system is not in great shape, the American education system does have perks. Our Principal, Mr. Herr pointed out, “There will always be kids who don’t make the effort and won’t reap the rewards. Sometimes you need to look beyond the numbers. The U.S. will educate everyone in a public school setting while many times other countries will only educate students to a certain point or if they’re top students.”
Often, American students have a poor attitude when it comes to school. They don’t push themselves hard enough and many students are lazy. Mr. Herr suggests that students need a connection to school to be able to have a better attitude towards it. “Generally students need a connection to school such as athletics or fine arts. Making a connection to school is vital and challenges students and gives the positive reinforcement that they need.”
There is no magic switch to be turned or any easy solution to this problem. While education in the U.S. may have some plusses, the recent test scores show we also have a lot of work to be done.