Parental Choice to Reverse Poor Global Rankings
Education, one
of the top issues President-Elect Trump focused on during his campaign, is very
much on the minds of all Americans. In an important book, education reform
expert and Independent Institute Research Fellow Vicki E.
Alger, Ph.D., author of FAILURE: The Federal
Misedukation of America's Children, shows us what the problems are and
offers sound strategies toward improving on the failures of America's
educational system.
By the year
2000, American "students must be first in the world in math and science
achievement." That's what President George H. W. Bush insisted in his 1990
State of the Union address. Two leading international exams confirm we're still
not even close.
Results from
the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) show
that eighth grade math performance has improved slightly from 2011. However,
there has been no statistical improvement in average fourth grade math and science
performance or average eighth grade science performance since 2011. That's the
good news. By the time American students approach the end of high school, they
rank in the lower half of developed countries.
Results from the
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicate that the average
reading and science performance of American 15-year-olds is essentially flat
compared to 2012, and that math performance has declined. This performance is
not because the U.S. has more socio-economically disadvantaged students. Nor is
it because the U.S. doesn't spend enough. Currently we spend over $15,000 per
pupil - more than every developed country except Luxembourg and Switzerland. [more...]
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