Is America's Public Education System In Trouble

Challenges of Public Education

Is America at risk of losing its competitive edge? Is America public education system in trouble? The research clearly suggests that America’s public education is behind its international counterparts in educational benchmarks. The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, gives tests to high school students across a range of countries. The evaluation finds that the U.S. ranks behind 16 other economies in terms of student literacy—the ability to read, integrate and evaluate texts; U.S. student rankings on mathematics are even lower (Kenny 12). Also, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that 2 out of 3 eight-graders can’t read proficiently and most will never catch up and
America needs solutions immediately because the gap represents its future leaders of tomorrow. If nothing is done soon to correct the disturbing trend, the United States will be in danger of falling even further behind other developed countries. The many challenges are frightening: (1) too many high school students quit school before graduation, (2) too many high school students graduate without the ability to read or write well, (3) too many high school students are not prepared for the workforce, and (4) too many high school students are not prepared for college. In this short essay, the writer will explain some of the consequences, causes and possible solutions for America’s educational
Initially, students get to evaluate their own teachers. Next, teachers get to rate or evaluate other teachers teaching the same subjects (i.e., English teachers rating English teachers), since they would probably know which teachers are most respected among their peers. Lastly, the other part of the teacher’s bonus could be based on student achievement on standardized test. Combining all three factors together helps determine the teacher bonus for that year. By doing it this way, those superior teachers will be rewarded with higher bonuses, while the underperforming teachers will get little or no pay bonuses. Then, maybe the underperforming teachers will consider switching jobs, as students deserve only the best. Likewise, since teachers are considered the backbone of the education systems, the school systems should do all they can to retain the good teachers. While the new pay standard for teacher’s bonuses might be difficult to pass (especially with teacher unions and lobbying organizations), the reward may outweigh the risk because outstanding teachers will produce better