political/social problem: declining education quality

DECLINING EDUCATION IN US

AN ANALYSIS TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

EDUCATION POLICIES

CRITICISM AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE INTRODUCTION

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA ) ranked US high school students 24th out of 29 countries . The report mentioned that a 15-year-old American has lesser proficiency than the same age student in Hungary and the Slovak Republic . US . Department of Education finding also mentions that half of US college students need to take remedial courses in math and reading to improve their intellectual ability

p There have been several reports published in media , which mention decline of American education . One main problem is the decline of quality , even though greater numbers of Americans are getting degrees but their degrees lack the quality . There are number of factors for this problem . For example , college and university budgets are determined by enrollment size . More student means higher budget , which prompts the institutes to enroll un-qualified and unprepared students , when these student get diploma or degree , it does not reflect their true academic level . The discussion ahead will explore this issue in detail LITERATURE REVIEW

The US education system is a mixture of federal , state and local governments interaction , where often-different policies are adopted with conflicting views leading often to no forward movement . The Tenth Amendment of US constitution makes education state responsibility , which leaves the federal education department in a weaker position . This system has created fifty education departments in fifty states , leaving little space for the federal government to do any real change . The annual spending on Education in US amounts to 700 billion , which is 7 .1 percent of contribute 450 billion . The elementary and secondary ) is above 119 ,000 with an enrollment of about 53 million students . There are additional 4000 degree granting institutes with an enrollment of 15 .3 million students (Department of Education , 1998 Despite such huge budget and vast number of student enrollment , the reality is different . This large numbers of enrollment do not reflect that students really have learned any skillful things at schools . For example according to statistics 37 percent students above fourth grade were unable to read and chances for such students are to be left out rather than read and learn .The study further mentions that a larger number (35 percent ) of high school students are not performing well in mathematics and about 47 percent scored below grade in science subjects .A Zogby survey was commissioned by the National Association of Scholars (NAS ) to compare the general knowledge of the college seniors with the college seniors of the yesterday . There were several questions asked covering literature and music but the result was less than satisfactory as it showed that the today 's college seniors scored less than an average high school of a half-century ago (Walter , 2004

An another survey by Gallup studied history and general knowledge of 700 college seniors found out that 25 percent of students did not know , when did Columbus landed in America , and 42 percent could know place civil war in the correct century . In 1993 Dept of Education survey findings mentioned that 50 percent of white and 80 percent of black could not state in writing the argument made in a news column or correctly use a bus schedule . Another 56 percent could not figure out , how much change they should get back after getting a 60 cent bowl and 1 .95 cents sandwich . The American council of Trustee and Alumni 's found out that only 34 percent student knew George Washington was a general in the battle of Yorktown (Walter , 2004 . The new knowledge economy is based on critical thinking , statistics mentions that this lacking in skill can lead to shortage of skilled by 2020

In a survey to check the adult literacy of reading has shown that the reading skills of graduate have declined . Even though more Americans are graduating from college , but fewer are leaving institutes with skills needed to comprehend the routine things . The test measured that only 41 percent of students were able to understand the instructions , which is 10 percent lower than 1992 college graduates . The result of the test was based on a sample of 19 ,000 students of age 16 and above . It was known that only few of them actually knew how to use library information system . Majority of them mentioned that going to college was meant to get a good job . The educators noticed that the reasons for such decline seems to the admission process , as most of the state school are not particular in selecting students . There is always pressure to increase the number of students regardless of their background . It has also been known that schools are not taking into account students from diverse background , as a result most of them find language a cultural barrier in the educational setup . The problem is on the rise and a huge number of students since 1992 are struggling even with basic skills , such as reading and comprehending day-to-day tasks . Some adults may have made progress , but over all the comprehension level among educated class is on decline despite holding their diploma and degrees (Romano , 2005

Looking at the current gaps in educational level it is projected that between 2000 and 2020 , there may be changes in with workforce with much lesser education compared to the past . Even though there may be some increase in the percentage of workforce , yet the projections shows decline in educational levels as shown in the figure below . According to the projection states with higher increase in minority will likely to have highest growth in workforce , such as Nevada , California , Arizona Texas , Colorado , and Illinois , but they will also have decrease in college educated There is evidence that despite decline in student 's achievements American students still were able to get admission in institutes , which in the case of dismissal would not have been possible . As institutes are more interested in increasing the number of students regardless of efficiency of students grades , the taxpayer and parents have to bear the cost of their diplomas and degrees , which they do not deserve . This increase in enrollment has led to enrollment in inflation on one side and also increases in budget and higher taxes . Even though there has been finding that clearly suggest that current diploma and degree holder do not have basic knowledge and skills , which are required in routine life (Stone , 1995 The above discussion leads us to the following issues

There is a mismatch of the education and skills needed in American society . The skills at schools are not required by society

Too many institutes certify too many students , who even do not meet the basic requirement , such as reading and writing , which show the lack of intellectual gap among these graduates and faulty selection process

Looking at the problems in the American education system , there is a need of various reforms by the federal government and state government and local goverments , which will be reviewed in next section EDUCATION POLICIES

The decline in education was mentioned in a report , by National Commission on Excellence in Education in 1983 in a report , A Nation at Risk . The report warned that in to remain a skillful nation , it is essential for United States to improve and reform the education system The report was impressive and mobilized public support for its recommendation , especially to make rigorous standards for students and teachers both at state and local level . It was this report , which became the foundation for major policy changes made during 1980s . One of main change was to increase the number of courses in specific subjects required for the high school diploma , and another major change was increase the statewide testing (Medrich et al , 1992

Throughout 1980s many states started to impose strict measures to increase the students performance and made it obligatory to meet the tougher standards . President Bill Clinton gained nation wide recognition by imposing stricter regulation in Kansas . Kansas City spent as much as 11 ,700 per student , the increase in fund also increased teacher salaries and many amenities were added to schools , such as swimming pool , televisions , robotic lab , wildlife sanctuary , which led to increased interest and attendance from students and result improved Similar strict measures were also introduced in Chicago , Hartford Cleveland , Baltimore , Washington , D .C , and three cities in New Jersey Many schools were given over to among municipal school superintendent

In other cities , such as San Francisco and San Antonio , the school superintendent imposed reconstitution , which meant the entire staff had to re-apply for employment (Lawrence , 1996 . In Baltimore , Robert Slavin , who is an education researcher was requested by Baltimore public school in 1986 to design a system , which could prevent students from falling behind in their first few years . The devised system worked successfully , by the end of the year , it had a budget of 30 million and was implemented in 1100 schools all over the country . The reason for this system Success for all ' was that it guaranteed the result educational commissioner wanted , which was higher scoring , however it was controversial as the system was expensive and poor schools could not afford it (Lemann , 1999

In the late 1989 , The National Educational Summit (NCES ) led to the creation of national educational goals . The reform strategies emphasized federal educational polices for 1990 , such as 1994 re-authorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA ) which was intended to standardize the reforms equally in all states . The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 again emphasized that all children need to reach higher standards , and also strengthened accountability programs to states and local governments . The NCLB 2001 also provided flexibility to the federal authorities to collect data and monitor . In the early 1990s the NCES administered many surveys regarding school staff , principals and teachers , and student 's academic performance all over the nation . In 2000 , 41 states participated in 2000 assessment ,which mentioned that States played active role to introduce reforms in 1990s

The State governments also passed legislation , which lead to accountability , finance reforms , teacher training and school options (Donoghue , and Schoeps , 2001 ) which are described below

Standards Accountability . The reform efforts focused on setting performance standards . The state clearly defined what they expect by standards and how student should perform in their subjects . This allowed measuring the statewide assessment and accountability systems to measure student performance and making school accountable for student performance Financial Reforms

The finance reforms were designed to hold educational system accountable for the results , however results depend on having financial resources (Ciotti , 1998

State invested a huge amount of money and financed the education system focusing on developing the adequate systems to ensure higher standards There has also been emphasis on reforms in special education (Crampton and Whitney , 1996 Teacher Training

There were also several efforts to increase student 's achievements by increasing teachers skills and resourcefulness . These efforts focused on providing more training to the teachers and update them with fresh knowledge . The most notable part of the training was to increases the effectiveness of early childhood education and increasing resources to the students by providing them high quality teachers . A number of states created model training programs and various kind of certification for teachers , which increased teacher proficiency and academic skills

School Options

A number of states choose to adopt legislation during 1990s that were meant to give more options to parents to send their children to attend school . Several states designed many public school choice programs that were meant to increase public school options and enrollment CRITICISM AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The policies brought fruit as states perused reforms strategies . There was rapid enrollment in Public school and kindergarten across the country . According to an estimate the student enrollment rose from 29 .9 million students in fall 1990 to an estimated 33 .5

million students in 2000 , in Kindergarten to Grade 8th ,while enrollment in grade 9 to 12 rose from 11 million to in 1990 to 13 .5 million in 2000 . Other than increasing the enrollment in schools , there were also changes in school racial and ethic population . For example the percentage of Hispanic under age 18 doubled and the percentage of Asian /pacific Islanders also increased from 2 to 4 percent between 1980 and1999 (Goertz and Duffy ,2001

Even though there has been tremendous change in educational environment compared to 1980s , and the statistic portray larger number of students attending schools and getting graduated , but the fundamental problem (as mentioned in the literature review section ) is that higher enrollment does not necessarily mean greater literacy . In fact today 's more Americans have diplomas and degrees compared to the past , but problem is being skillful and have basic understanding . It seems the there is more pressure on the institutes to have greater enrollment as has been noticed in the policy . Perhaps government in its fervor is considering greater number of degree holders with greater number of education . Getting education in college is not a cheap deal , these days it cost about 20 , 000 per year , which

is putting pressure on the families on one side and on the society and state as well . But awarding degree to an undeserving person is wasting money and resources . No doubt there should be emphasis on education for all , but education needs to have a purpose . A student who spends years in school and college , and in the end has no skills nor does increase his intellectual capacity is increasing only national statistics at the cost of wasting money and time . It is therefore essential that education officials should become more realistic and innovative and move beyond increasing enrollment . The author will suggest the following recommendations to enhance the decline in education

i ) There should be more emphasis on early education to strengthen the students foundation and develop lifelong learning , specifically in science subjects

ii ) Schools and colleges need to move beyond enrollments and introduce strict measure for admission , so that undeserving student do not get enrolled

iii ) The amount of student learning time should be increased , but students should also be involved in different kind of engaging activities CONCLUSION

In the words of Martin Luther King , the purpose of education is to make a man useful to oneself and to society as well . Education enables a man to become more efficient , quick , resolute and creative . It is not just about finding a job or earning money , mere money earning is not the sole purpose of education . The chief purpose of education is to be honest with oneself , and with society at large . A degree or diploma carries no value , if a person does not deserve it . A degree that does not enable a person to think creatively and independently and instead hampers his efficiency is useless . United States became great power in the world not because of money , but only due to skill and innovation , which we need for our future as well REFERENCE

Lemann , N (1999 . Whole school reform . Atlantic Monthly

Walter , W (2004 . Higher education in decline . George Mason University

Lawrence , S (1996 . Respecting the evidence : the achievement crisis remains real . Education Policy Analysis , 4

Romano , L (2005 . Literacy of college graduates is on decline Washington Post

Ciotti ,

(1998 . Money and school performance . Cato Institute Policy Analysis

Stone , J (1996 . Inflated grades . Education Policy Analysis (3

Allen , N .L , Donoghue , J .R , and Schoeps , T .L (2001 . The NAEP 1998 Technical Report (NCES 2001-509 .U .S . Department of Education Washington , DC : National Center for Education Statistics

Medrich , E .A , Brown , C .L , Henke , R .H , Ross , L , and McArthur , E (1992 . Overview and Inventory of State . Requirements for School Coursework and Attendance (NCES 92-663 . U .S . Department of Education Washington , DC : National Center for Education Statistics

Crampton , F , and Whitney , T (1996a . Principles of a Sound State School Finance System . Foundation for State Legislatures , Education Partners Project . Denver , CO : National Conference of State Legislatures

Goertz , M .E , and Duffy , M .C (2001 . Assessment and Accountability Systems in the 50 States : 1999-2000 (CPRE Research Report Series RR-046 . Philadelphia , PA : Consortium for Policy Research in Education ...