Introduction
The American education system is laden with problems that need to be addressed. For instance, only about 80% of learners are graduating from high school. Noticeably, only half of the 80% is ready for the challenges that await them in the real world. The need to improve the current system is crucial but for that to be done the problems that currently ail the countries education system has to be addressed. The fact that other developed countries have high retention ability than the United States is a testament to the failing system. Additionally, the GED exams offered to adults who have been unable to complete high school has come under the scrutiny of late with their curriculum standard brought into question. The number of females who are part of STEM courses has not increased drastically despite the various strategies set in an attempt to try and improve their intake.
The issues that surround the quality of education are essential to me individually and to society as well. I am keenly interested in the subject since it will shed light into what indeed ails the American educational system. Issues such as the gender gap in schools, the rate of student transition into tertiary institutions, parents’ involvement in the education of their children play a critical role in highlighting the strength of institutions. The debate on whether to go private or focus on public schools is also another factor that determines the power of the learning institutions that are in the country. I am also interested in the topic since there has been a debate on whether the advancements in technology have had a positive impact on Education in the United States.
Literature review
Like all sectors, the education system faces a significant funding deficit. Notice that the national government only contributes about 4% of the federal budget to education. This means that each state has to establish its education budget. The money from the state is then further channeled into different cities and districts. The distribution process leaves room for bias leading to some sections of the society receiving less than the funds they require for the proper running of the educational institutions. Recent research in the United States highlighted the fact that the schools that are most in need of the educational funding are the ones that did not receive a considerable share as they would have desired. The high college tuition fee does not help the situation at all.
The curriculum that is currently in use in most states is outdated and focuses on textbooks and generalizing of the learner’s needs as opposed to focusing on the specific qualities, strengths, and interests of the learners. The focus on the passing of exams with no particular emphasis placed on the needs of students can be attributed to the vast number of learners who come out of high school when they are not ready for the life that is ahead of them. Notice that the standardized tests that are given to learners do not factor in individual qualities, thinking out of the box, passions of the students and the talents that students have and as such are not the best alternative to be used while evaluating the young learners. The exams end up stifling the low-income students as well as affecting the way minorities tend to perceive different issues.
The adoption of day schools as a basic way of impacting knowledge to learners up to high school means that the learners have a maximum of 180 session s with their facilitators in school. The number is lower than the 240 sessions in Japan and even much lower than the 280 that the Chinese have adopted. These few hours coupled with the lack of parent involvement in the learner’s education is responsible for the standards of education lowering across the country.
In a study by the National Center for education and statistics, it was discovered that 14% of the schools in the United States exceed the capacity of students that they can handle. The high number of students meant that the learners could not get the attention that they deserve from their teachers. The less attention translates in poor performance as the teachers are unable to focus on the specific needs of the individual learners. The teachers in these institutions also need to be better educated if the learners are changing rapidly. However, the teachers in the United States are not well trained, and as a result, they cannot fit in the modern K-12 classroom. The lack of technological know-how coupled with a lack of awareness from teachers is responsible for the current drop in the level of education across the country. Despite the multiple technical steps that have been taken to improve education some of the technological advancements such as phones are responsible for the depreciation in the level of education as some of the learners are faced with the challenge of how to best utilize the gadgets.
Eventually, a lot needs to be done to rectify some of the challenges facing Education in the United States. Noticeably, if the changes are not facilitated, the country may not compete effectively with its economic peers shortly.