In light of a lot of controversial issues over education matters, different people take different sides and give out individual opinions. There is a common belief that good education would provide a country with a lot of benefits such as more promising economic growth and higher living standards. As the global economic recession is taken more seriously, more and more people are now turning their attention to education in America, the most powerful country in the world, asking whether it will be still up to its name in the future and what kind of improvement to education can make contribution to the social economy. In addition, media also gives data on America’s stagnant education outcome. In a study released in September 2009, what stands out is that U.S. students scored the lowest in Math and Science, with a Math result “in the bottom quarter of all the countries that participated, including Finland, China and Estonia”(Lattimore). As well, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan claimed that students are going to struggle in the global market competition without intellectual growth. Thus, education issues become outstanding among all the challenges people are going to meet in the recent future. Since secondary education plays a fundamental and transitional role in one’s whole education journey, here are examinations of important factors in the current U.S. public high school system that cause its education quality to decline.
Students are not being helped by tests because standards are not rigorous in American high schools. According to Dr. Kristy Vernille, an expert in Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction, American students usually move from grade to grade easily and “without having to demonstrate competency in any subject matter”, as a result of the loose and vague test standards in America (Vernille 5). Although American students are often asked to take a lot of standardized tests, based on the American
Cited: American Federation of Teachers. “Setting higher sights: A need for more demanding assessments for U.S. eighth graders.” Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers. July, 1998. Web. May, 2012. Cannon, J. and H. P. Ginsburg. “Doing the math: Maternal beliefs about early math¬ematics versus language learning.” Early Education and Development. 2008. Web. May, 2012. Evans, Dennis L. Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in secondary education. University of California, Irvine. 2002. Print. Ho Sui-Chu, Esther and J. Douglas Willims. “Effects of Parental Involvement on Eighth-Grade Achievement.” Sociology of Education. (April, 1996):126-141. Web. May, 2012. Hunt, Jessica H. and Bi Ying Hu. “Theoretical Factors Affecting Parental Roles in Children’s Mathematical Learning in American and Chinese-Born Mothers.” The School Community Journal. 2011. Web. May, 2012. Lattimore, K. “Students in U.S. Falling Behind in Math and Science.” 8 September, 2009. Web. May, 2012. Ravitch, Diane Schaack, Tara L. Van. “Comparing U.S. and Chinese Public School Systems.” University of Michigan. n.d. Web. May, 2012. Siegel, Benjemin. "Stressful Times for Chinese Students." TIME. 12 June, 2007. Web. May, 2012. Vernille, Kristy. “Why Are U.S. Mathematics Students Falling Behind Their International Peers?” University of Maryland. n.d. Web. May, 2012. Woessmann, Ludger. “Why Students in Some Countries Do Better: International evidence on the importance of education policy.” Education Matters. 2001. Web. May, 2012.