Decline of American Education
Janae Greene 3/3/2013
WRT 205 1st Draft
The United States may be considered a super power but when it comes to education we are a ways from being super. For the last several years the U.S has fallen in the median of test scores on a worldwide scale, for academic performance comparisons with other countries. This is merely one example of how our once highly valued educational system is continuously plummeting. With respects to these declining performances there has been a rise in the discussion about ways in which to improve our system. In light of this there have been several debates on ways that may enhance student performance. One of those debates involves the increasingly controversial topic of teacher incentives. The incentives are geared to motivate teachers to go above and beyond, taking intuitive to think outside the box and create creative new ways to engage students and enhance their learning. In attempts to monitor and assess these student progressions there needs to be a form of assessment. Up until the present we have been mandating high risk, standardize test. In respects to the overall improvement of the educational system, teacher and student performance the ways in which we assess these have to been brought into a nationwide debate. The theory is stated as follows If incentives are effective then this should improve student performance, hence improve our educational system. If testing is improved we have better ways of monitoring our student’s progress. It’s noteworthy to take a look at just how much influence do teachers have on the educational advancements of students. According to Brophy, J.E and Good, T.L. who wrote “Teacher Behavior and Student Achievement.” Of the book Handbook of Research on Teaching “Students achieve more in classes where they spend most of their time being
WRT 205 1st Draft
The United States may be considered a super power but when it comes to education we are a ways from being super. For the last several years the U.S has fallen in the median of test scores on a worldwide scale, for academic performance comparisons with other countries. This is merely one example of how our once highly valued educational system is continuously plummeting. With respects to these declining performances there has been a rise in the discussion about ways in which to improve our system. In light of this there have been several debates on ways that may enhance student performance. One of those debates involves the increasingly controversial topic of teacher incentives. The incentives are geared to motivate teachers to go above and beyond, taking intuitive to think outside the box and create creative new ways to engage students and enhance their learning. In attempts to monitor and assess these student progressions there needs to be a form of assessment. Up until the present we have been mandating high risk, standardize test. In respects to the overall improvement of the educational system, teacher and student performance the ways in which we assess these have to been brought into a nationwide debate. The theory is stated as follows If incentives are effective then this should improve student performance, hence improve our educational system. If testing is improved we have better ways of monitoring our student’s progress. It’s noteworthy to take a look at just how much influence do teachers have on the educational advancements of students. According to Brophy, J.E and Good, T.L. who wrote “Teacher Behavior and Student Achievement.” Of the book Handbook of Research on Teaching “Students achieve more in classes where they spend most of their time being