Do you realize that the rankings for other Countries are based on their best. In America we offer all of our children the best free public education. In foreign countries they streamline their kids into the trade programs or academic. This is the reason America falls behind after the 4th grade. They are only testing their best, while we test them all. You really need to look into this. Education is key.
Check out the following on the 20/20 site:
John Stossel's 'Stupid in America'
Also, here is a great article:
U.S. falls in education rank compared to other countries
Story posted: 10-04-2005 07:07
By Elaine Wu
U-Wire
The United States is falling when it comes to international education rankings, as recent studies show that other nations in the developed world have more effective education systems.
In a 2003 study conducted by UNICEF that took the averages from five different international education studies, the researchers ranked the United States No. 18 out of 24 nations in terms of the relative effectiveness of its educational system.
Another prominent 2003 study, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, shows a steady decline in the performance of American students from grades 4 to 12 in comparison to their peers in other countries.
In both studies, Finland, Australia, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands and the United Kingdom beat the United States, while the Asian nations of South Korea, Japan and Singapore ranked first through third, respectively.
The TIMSS study is a comprehensive study done on a four-year cycle that measures the progress of students in math and science in 46 participating countries. It evaluates fourth, eighth and 12th-graders through questionnaires, tests and extensive videotaping of classroom environments.
The TIMSS results reveal a lot about the weaknesses of the U.S. education system, said David Marsh, a professor at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.
“In fourth grade, American kids do above average internationally. By eighth grade, they slip a bit, and by 12th-grade, they’ve slipped a lot,” Marsh said. “We’re the only country that slides down that much from fourth to 12th grade.”
Although studies have attempted to illuminate the reasons for this downward slide, no conclusive explanations have been drawn.
The UNICEF report finds that educational success or failure is not directly linked to funding, and that there is no clear link between student-to-teacher ratios and test results.
By international standards, the United States spends a lot of money on education, and in terms of class sizes, a lot of countries that do well have larger class sizes than the United States, Marsh said.
Marsh said that he attributes U.S. rankings to a different set of reasons —namely, the way material is being taught in classrooms.
“The United States focuses more on procedure, and we try to teach many topics fast. Other countries tend to break topics up and go much more in-depth. They work on the concept, not just the procedure,” Marsh said. “Countries that did well in rankings focused on teaching the ideas and taught a few topics a year. Kids will learn what a fraction really is, not just how to add or subtract them.”
For example, teachers in the United States tend to teach in whole numbers, while other countries use rulers so children are able to see that there are numbers between whole numbers, Marsh said.
When kids are taught the procedure, and not the concept behind a subject, they tend to forget more quickly, he said.
Peter Luevano, assistant principal at Jefferson High School, cites different reasons for the decline in the U.S. education system.
“There are environmental factors that are involved. I think there’s a shift in the mentality of both kids and parents,” he said. “Kids value different things these days, and schools are more diverse than they were 15 or 20 years ago. We’re more open culturally, but that has caused more division rather than unity in the country. Parent involvement has also decreased, and there are also discipline factors involved. Schools have lost a lot of control.”
But the United States is taking steps toward improving education standards in the country.
In 2002, the Bush administration signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which places accountability for progress upon schools and doles out regular standardized testing.
The act is geared toward encouraging higher academic achievement among students, particularly those that come from poor minority backgrounds.
But some students at USC cannot see how the law is proving effective.
“Because the only way we measure how well students do is through testing, teachers end up teaching how to take the test, and not necessarily the subject matter,” said Megan Baaske, a sophomore majoring in history and communication. “Great, students can take a test, but they don’t know anything.”
“The U.S. caters to students’ needs and wants,” said Matias Sueldo, a sophomore majoring in international relations who spent part of his education in Argentina. “Kids here learn to pass a test, but they don’t learn the concepts. In Argentina, you either know it or you don’t.”
Emily Gamelson, a junior majoring in history, thinks that the low student achievement in U.S. schools has a lot to do with the lack of competition.
“Ambition and the motivation to achieve aren’t really inspired in our education system,” Gamelson said. “Since education is available to everyone, there’s not a lot of competition in our schools. Other countries force kids to focus at an earlier age, and there’s more competition to deal with.”
Some countries offer more incentives for students to do better. In Denmark and Finland, for instance, ninth and 10th grade are separated from 11th and 12th grade, encouraging students to do better and compete to get into the higher grades.
“It’s basically the teaching system, the values and cultures of a country that underlie its education system,” Sueldo said. “Other factors like funding really have nothing to do with it.”
But Luevano said that he thinks there are difficulties in even comparing U.S. schools, especially public ones, to ones abroad.
“Other countries might have a more homogenous population,” he said. “(Here) you have different cultures, different communities and kids who come from different backgrounds. You don’t have the same socioeconomic standards. It’s hard to be compared.”
Nevertheless, the published education rankings remain displeasing to some people.
“I think it’s ironic that the United States is the richest and most powerful country in the world and yet we can’t even properly educate our own students,” Baaske said. “Our priorities are in the wrong place.”
But Marsh believes we can make a change for the better.
“If we do this right, we can be a real educational leader in the world,” he said. “But the state of education in the United States is a serious situation that demands our attention.”
END OF ARTICLE
Please don't believe for one second that our educational system is okay. It's not. NO ONE in this country deserves more respect than our teachers. They have the hardest job in the world and are certainly not in it for the money. They have enormous pressures put on them to graduate children whether those children are ready or not.
The system is in a quagmire of red tape, government regulation and antiquated bureaucracy.
We have done our children no favors with NCLB. Great idea, lousy implementation!!
Ad for streamlining into trades, why not? Why does the kid who can take apart a car engine at 15 have to fail out of school because he doesn't score well in language on an SAT? Why does a kid who can write poetry at 12 have to suffer through failing science until she is so discouraged she quits trying at any subject? Children do all fit into one mold. But our public schools are designed to force that mold or damage the clay in the process. A kinetic learner is doomed in the public school. So is a tactile learner. And yet, most of the great artists and thinkers are these types of learners.
The philosophy of our school system needs to change. Smaller classes, more pay for teachers, "new" methods of learning. Potential can not be measured on a standardized test. But standardized tests can crush potential.
I was absolutely sick over the whole thing. Granted, I know it's not ideal for kids to miss that many days of school but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do--even if that means going to Disney!
) is to lie! I was shocked at how many people told me to make up a death in the family or some other sort of excuse! I told them all I was trying to do this the right way and to what end?! Not that I don't appreciate their words, I do realize they're trying to help...but wouldn't it be easier to have frank, open and honest communication with parents and school staff?
