America Falls Short in Global Education

JOSEPH NEY-JUN
Staff Writer

In past years, the U.S. has been falling behind the rest of the world in education. Because we are a first world country, our system should be set up to make the best students in the world right? However, this is not the case, as a recent test has shown that the U.S. is far behind the rest of the world in core subjects like Mathematics, Reading and Science.

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), holds a triennial test for all 15 year old students around the world in participating countries. In 2012, 35 countries were ahead of the U.S. in mathematics. Other countries showed great improvement over their scores from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), but the U.S. showed no such improvement. In fact, there was a drop from the 2009 score of 487 to 481 in Mathematics for the U.S. in 2012. There was a decrease in the scores of Reading and Science as well.

America was once leading the world in education, but now we are outstripped by countries like Japan and China. Japan and China are leading scores in the three subjects. According to recent surveys by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), in Shanghai and the rest of China, nine out of 10 students realize that they are responsible for their futures.

Likewise, in Japan, high school is not mandatory. A prestigious high school in Japan requires an entry test to attend. Because Japanese students know that without school there is a high chance they will not be successful, many continue on to high school. If every student in America were given the option to skip high school, many would take it in order to be told what to do.

“It is a picture of educational stagnation,” said the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan said, “according to the U.S. Department of Education. American students are standing still while the rest of the world moves on. Our scores either dropped or stayed the same. The other nations of the world unfortunately do not have a No Country Left Behind Act. What they see that Americans do not is the long term goal.”

If we were to push ourselves as hard as other countries, we could come back over time. Every year, more and more funding is taken out of education, creating difficulties for schools to teach students more effectively. If we wish to be one of the world’s best, we can’t baby ourselves or be babied. There are students who go the extra two miles, but no matter how far they go it is always possible for them to take their fates farther.