Study: US Losing Ground in Education

[buzzsaw_23]

Study: U.S. Losing Ground in Education


Tuesday September 13, 2005 3:01 PM

By BEN FELLER

AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is losing ground in education, as peers across the globe zoom by with bigger gains in student achievement and school graduations, a study shows.

Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.

By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies.

McGaw said that the United States remains atop the ``knowledge economy,'' one that uses information to produce economic benefits. But, he said, ``education's contribution to that economy is weakening, and you ought to be worrying.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5275006,00.html

[donco6]

1. So, we gonna blame the teachers, administrators, kids . . .

or blame our government's lack of concern for education?

[Dinger]

2. As A Teacher . . .

I agree . . . that's what they'll do, and the result will hurt kids.

[bribri16]

42. And just think, all this amid a turning away from "liberal arts curriculum

And a turning toward, faith-based education.

[4morewars]

3. Blame the union !

Aren't they just a bunch of terrorists anyway ?

[Vickers]

10. You nailed it. I come from a family of educators, and even THEY

feel that the NEA is some kind of terrorist training camp. :eyes:

[MissMarple]

22. Any idea what the other nations are doing to teach their disadvantaged?

And, I wonder what percentage of their populations are disadvantaged.

Also, I'd like to see the unions get together with the districts and hammer out some real changes, professional changes. Right now, everyone seems rapped up in conflicts of interest. The kids, the teachers, and ultimately our overall level of education suffer for that.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

24. Your second question is the answer

To paraphrase a quote I read in Sagan's "Demon-Haunted World," learning can happen ONLY AFTER a child is fed, safe, loved, healthy (mentally and physically).

When 1/5 of children are living in poverty (and we all know the federal poverty line is a joke), living in unsafe neighborhoods next to a power plant spewing chemicals that exacerbate asthma and allergies, seeing daddy hitting mommy on a regular basis, answering calls from collection agencies trying to get money for baby sister's emergency heart surgery, not getting treatment for mental illness, how the hell can we expect them to be learning?

Maslow's hierarchy of needs says it all. And until we accomplish that, education will keep going downhill.

[MissMarple]

27. You are so wise.

:)

[Southpaw Bookworm]

28. Awww.

:blush:

Not wise so much as having seen this all firsthand. Plus, a friend's master's thesis research dealt with the impact of hunger (of BOTH parents and children) on learning outcomes.

[Enraged_Ape]

4. No Child Left Behind: One of the biggest farces in US history

It's an excuse to sell testing materials and test preparation materials (some of which are produced by Neil Bush's company) and a slimy way to try to channel public education funds to private schools (by choking off public school districts that are ALREADY woefully underfunded). It's little more than a "three-card-monte" technique to make it look like the administration is doing something about education, when they couldn't care less.

Kids don't learn anymore. They don't think. They take tests.

[mzteris]

6. That's why we homeschool. n/t

[kath]

37. It's why we homeschool too (at least one of the major reasons)

All the testing crap is such bullshit, in so many ways.

[mzteris]

38. true - there are many reasons

but the way NCLB has totally screwed up most school systems is a contributing factor of many of those *reasons*...

Stress, anxiety, boredom, lack of creativity -- and that's the teachers!! Seriously, this atmosphere pervades the entire school on some days. I saw it when my son was still in school.

I walked into school on a *TEST day* - unbeknownst as my son was still too young at the time for the EOG's - and you could've cut the tension with a knife. The strained looks on teachers' faces and snapping at everyone - I asked what was going on - heck I thought someone had died or there was a wholesale firing going on or something - "Oh, it's EOG - we have to make sure everyone does a good job." Good job? With that kind of tension in the place? Even a "good student" would have been challenged to *perform* to their ability.

I think NCLB is another attempt to destroy critical thinking. They don't WANT the masses to be able to think - just do what you're told. THEIR kids - the rich/privileged ones - go to private schools that will teach them these things; thus ensuring the "natural order" continues. The rich rule, the rest serve at their pleasure. And happily so if we're kept too stupid to question them.

[4morewars]

7. No Child Left Behind

as in there will be no child left behind once we start drafting them.

[redqueen]

12. Exactly... memorization and regurgitation is all they're concerned with.

Sickening.

[JoFerret]

17. No child left untested

...long enough to learn.
...no professional teacher left unharassed long enough to teach.

[callous taoboy]

21. There HAS to be a connection between test makers / scorers and

the bush cabal. I'd bet the farm on it.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

26. I believe it's Neil Bush

Who has ties to a testing company, or one of those private "tutoring" firms that swoops in when a school doesn't have high enough scores.

[JoFerret]

48. Two connections

1. The business end of who gets the test contracts etc.
2. Testing is a powerful and apparently "fair" means of preserving power/ wealth/ access in the hands of the few who already have it. The testing/ educational system sorts out those who are not up to par and ensures they stay that way. It re-inforces class and preserves the status quo in terms of wealth distribution. Testing is akin to egg-sorting.

[Qibing Zero]

18. The absurdity of it still blanks me

I mean, in theory, it seems to be an idea conservatives would be outraged over. Kids not being allowed to excel above others, banning spelling bees, supressing individualism? You'd think they'd be calling bush a 'pinko commie bastard' by now.

Then, in reality, it ends up turning kids into conformists who don't think for themselves. It's anti-education and anti-freethought: all hail the test era! Bushco has been taking even more lessons from Hitler and Orwell. Reminds me of the picture of bush talking to the boy scouts with the huge army hot-air balloon in the background. It's about time for the Spies to turn their parents in.

[Benhurst]

5. Oh, well. Who needs an education in a banana republic? NT

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. hey in many european countries including Ca..passing grade is 50%

our passing grade is set higher than most other countries...it makes a difference the number crunching don't you think?

verses a 65% here

[Maple]

30. What makes you think that?

Many countries use the international baccalaureate program

[ixion]

9. oh, it's okay, just teach intelligent design and the Rapture and all will

be well. :sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

11. When you put "intelligent design" on a par with science

you will be raising a generation of morons!

[0007]

13. Man, that's not hard to comprehend. Just walk around and

mingle with the nitwits, halfwits, nincompoops and the crazies that watch FAUX News.

[barbaraann]

14. John Taylor Gatto has a lot to say about this.

http://johntaylorgatto.com/index.htm


American Education History Tour:
http://johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm

[MissMarple]

25. Interesting. And here is link to Gatto's opposite.

They have an "off with their heads" approach to public schools, and simply want to end them, and let parents who can't afford private school tuition be dependent on charitable donations.

www.honestedu.org.

[Solly Mack]

15. the study is a little late

but then I guess if education had been better they would have been faster about the study

[JoFerret]

16. The report also underscores....sex disparity

<<The report also underscores that women continue to get paid less than men.

Women in the United States who are 30 to 44 and who hold a university degree - meaning a bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctorate or medical degree - make only 62 percent of what similarly qualified men do.

That's a lower rate than in all but three of the 19 countries for which numbers are available. The nations with greater inequity in pay are Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland. >>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-527...

[HughBeaumont]

19. When you outsource the "smart jobs", where's the incentive?

What incentive are corporations, through their offshore-and-inshore-a-thon hiring practices, giving American kids to take up science/math/IT/knowledge-based professions? To have a 50/50 chance of there being a liveable wage, undersaturated job market when they get out? Nothing is built here anymore. Fewer and fewer software is being invented and developed here anymore. What OPTIONS will they have? Even all of the "future" professions (biotech, nanotech, robotics, laser optics, etc) aren't location-bound - nearly all developing countries already have the jump on us when it comes to these future seeds.

Fact remains that no matter HOW many degrees we get, no matter HOW educated we make ourselves, they will always, always, ALWAYS be cheaper than us because their cost of living is exponentially lower than ours. Which is why the libertarian/Repuke canard of "ya need more training! Ya need more brains! That's why they beat'cha, they gots brains!!" is a consummate pile of horse manure. Only Fortune magazine got it right 2 months ago when they told of this undeniable fact on their cover story America: The 97 Pound Weakling?.

[ridgerunner]

20. Me fail English? That's unpossible!

[noonwitch]

23. There is no one cause for this

I personally think many of the kids who are "left behind" from families that don't participate in their children's educations at all. They don't attend conferences, track homework or help their kids study, etc.

I don't blame the union itself, however. I was educated by NEA teachers, and I learned to read and write properly. I had trouble with math, but that was more due to the way they were teaching it in the early 70s (The New Math).

[Lecky]

29. The fact that we are losing ground is not a big shock

I mean isn't there a current debate in this country whether or not "Intelligent Design" should be taught in our public schools?

I wonder if people around the world just sit back and laugh at the dumb Americans...

[OKthatsIT]

31. You can thank REAGAN, Federalist Society and RW think tanks

"...the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago,.."

Republicans have systematically attacked and undermined public education...Put the blame where it belongs.

[maddezmom]

32. kick

[Horse with no Name]

33. U.S. world position in education slipping

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/09/13/education.compared.ap/index.html

Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.

By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies.

n all levels of education, the United States spends $11,152 per student. That's the second highest amount, behind the $11,334 spent by Switzerland.

Women in the United States who are 30 to 44 and who hold a university degree -- meaning a bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctorate or medical degree -- make only 62 percent of what similarly qualified men do.

That's a lower rate than in all but three of the 19 countries for which numbers are available. The nations with greater inequity in pay are Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland.

[Chovexani]

34. No shit

And it's not like degrees will be worth anything, not with it being practically illegal to teach actual science.

Thanks, fundies!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

35. Again, under pResident Bunnypants

No Child Left Behind, except in New Orleans. That's the slogan. But they are all left behind unless you are mega-rich and can afford heavy tutors.

[genieroze]

36. Zero tolerance had removed many kids from the public schools.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Until we change our cultural attitude of "It's not cool to be smart,"

we'll lag behind the rest of the industrialized world.

All the rest of the problems stem from that attitude.

Americans tend to see school exclusively as grim preparation for some future job slot (with an admixture of sports and cutthroat social life to keep the kiddies from terminal boredom) instead of as a way to encourage the growth of well-informed, independent-thinking citizens who know how to make the best of both their jobs and their leisure time.

[goforit]

40. Duh!!

[WCGreen]

41. The teachers Union is almost, I say almost a disgrace....

All they do, at least here in Ohio, is collective bargaining...

They don;t stand behind the teachers when they are faced with trouble...

They complain when they are requested to do continuing ed...

Here is my point, the teachers consider themselves as professionals but resist the same standards, continuing ed, retesting, that other professions such as Law, Accouting require to maintain licesenture....

I'm just sayin'

I come from a long line of teachers and realize how important they are, but the organization that claims to represent them does, in my opinion, a great diservice to the profession.......

[MissMarple]

45. I agree the teachers' unions should promote a professional approach.

I know in Colorado, for years, CEA would represent in court any teacher that was terminated, no matter how valid the reason. It was, and still is, difficult to move inadequate teachers out of the profession, although things are better now. Tenure should not be a job guarantee, performance must always be a factor.

It would behoove the teachers to demand that the unions (formerly professional organizations) work with the teachers, the districts and the states to develop appropriate standards and evaluations, as well as district and school level professional development. Some schools need an entirely different kind of teacher than others.

The unions could also address the reasons some schools and districts do better than other based on cultural, sociological, and economic differences. As stated in an earlier post on this thread, these are where the most cogent concerns lie in devising strategies to teach difficult school populations. Often a community approach is needed to effect necessary change. Children need to come to school adequately and respectfully cared for, with positive expectations for their school success.

The rise in the poverty rate has stressed children and families, and, at this point, I see the rate poverty rate continuing to rise. Both parties bear responsibility for this, the Republicans just more so. The Republicans would like to privatize the schools, and love to point out that throwing more money at the schools won't improve them. Adequate funding and more prosperity for American families, available health care including mental health and substance abuse programs would do more for American school children than the private school panacea. Putting these kids in private schools will be a disaster. They propose charitable donations to fund the schooling of poor children. They should be embarrassed.

I'll get off this soap box someone dragged in here. :)

Here's a scary site. http://www.honestedu.org/

[WCGreen]

46. To their credit, the Cleveland Teachers Union

has been more than willing to help work with the school administration here in the financially cripple school distict...

Crippled because of tax give aways and poverty stricken area.....

But still, they just don't seem to get it, they don't seem to understand that the times have changed and that the Union needs to focus on raising the professional standards as a way to create more demand for their product......

[RedCloud]

43. More extra credit!

That worked for Bush during 9/11. He hid for three days. Nobody said he did it and he came out of hiding, grateful for the extra credit we gave him.

[Sabriel]

44. Look for this to continue

What else do you expect when you put billions into a war and siphon off money from education? Add to that the increasing poverty rate and ridiculous testing laws and it'll equal an education trifecta. Thanks, neocons!

[not fooled]

47. Yeah, and just remember...

...the stupider and less informed the populace, the easier for the neokooks to enact their elitist agenda. Folks, they WANT 'Murkans ignorant and dumb. They WANT to destroy public education. Well, they are succeeding at something. :eyes:

[Igel]

49. Do what other countries do.

Track the students: you don't pass the optional tests, you don't get into difficult programs. Weed out the lesser gifted from curricula where they do poorly, and make general and vocational courses available to them.

In at least a few countries, you can get specialized high scool degrees in shop clerking and waiting tables.

One thing you can't do: regardless of the amount spent, the technology you put in their hands, the bombast uttered by politicians, or the training of teachers, you usually can't fight the prevailing home and community cultures.

It cuts both ways: some countries (and US schools) that place highly have low spending levels, poorly maintained schools, and little hi-tech gadgetry.