Where in the past the US was actually recognized as a world leader in education, it is now going through a great struggle in promoting education across its states. Where 30 years ago, America was the leader in quality and quantity of high school diplomas, today it is ranked as the 18th of 23 industrialized countries.
What is the reason for this major downfall in education? Is the US Department of Education doing something wrong? Is the youth no longer interested in studying? Well, to answer these questions and to understand the details on why quality of education is going down in the USA, let us take a look at a few surprising facts:
- 3 million high school students in the US don’t graduate on time yearly.
- The educational assessment of the US states that every year only 69% of high school seniors get their diploma.
- Every year, 1.3 million students drop out from school. This makes for approximately one dropout for every 26 seconds and an overall 7,000 dropouts in only one day.
- Recent studies show that if the 1.3 million dropouts in 2010 would have graduated, the nation would have gained an overall $337 billion more in its earnings.
- The US, in the past, had the highest college completion and retention rates, but after combining the educational stats over the past couple of years, the nation now ranks 14th.
- A recent survey showed that 60% of the students lack the reading skills and 40% lack basic math skills to work a simple production job in a manufacturing company.
- Childhood education is not given much regard in the US. Only half of 3-year olds attend pre-school.
Why are these statistics so bad? Why aren’t students graduating or completing their college? Well, here are the reasons why the quality of education is going down in the US:
No Quality Teachers
When it comes to education, there is no doubt that teachers play a significant role. And this is where the US is lacking nowadays. Most of the schools and universities lack quality teachers. Recent studies show that approximately 14% of new teachers resign by the end of their first year. 33% of teachers give up their teaching career within their first 3 years and 50% leave teaching by their fifth year. So, how can it be possible for a country to prosper in education when the teachers of various schools and colleges don’t pay much attention to education themselves?
High Schools Lack ‘Real’ Education
Real education doesn’t only refer to learning and memorizing books upon books, it also means to prepare students with the basic skills and knowledge which is required by students to excel after graduation. Recent studies show only 1 out of 4 high school students are actually college-ready in the 4 core subjects of science, math, reading, and English.
Education isn’t Considered Important
While this may sound a little harsh, it is true. Most companies and manufacturers offering jobs don’t require college or post-secondary education for their candidates. Therefore, education is taken for granted by most teenagers and is considered to be less important, as all of them know no matter what the education they will still be able to score a good job.
Less Wealthier School Districts Are Treated Differently
There are 3 times the numbers of out-of-field teachers in schools that are made up of 75% or more low income students than in wealthier school districts.
So, now that you are familiar with the stats mentioned above and the reasons why quality education is going down in the US, what do you think is the best solution to solve these problems and improve education?