While tertiary education in America still holds a strong place in the world’s ranking of education, the United States ranks number 14th on the list in primary (1-8 grade) and secondary (9-12 grade) education (OECD, 2019). In the past seven years, since I first addressed this matter, the U.S. has made little progress in improving its overall ranking. While there are many reasons why some countries clearly outperform the United States in education, this writing will serve as an introduction to one of those reasons and offer some light on the many complexities of education in America today.
One of the main reasons American education still lags behind other countries is due to insufficient investment in early childhood education. Children who do not receive high-quality early education are more likely to struggle academically and fall behind later on (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2021). A recent report by the National Institute for Early Education Research found that state spending on pre-K programs decreased for the third consecutive year in 2020, jeopardizing America’s ability to develop a strong foundation for educational competitiveness.
Furthermore, the challenges that America faces in education are also systemic, and despite numerous educational reforms in recent years, there has been little progress in effectively addressing these systemic issues (Hanushek et al., 2021). The lack of leadership and political will to invest in education continues to hamper progress. Instead, many stakeholders are more interested in perpetuating the “status quo” and maintaining the current systems that under-educate our children.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the already systemic shortcomings of American education. The pandemic highlighted the disparities in access to education between lower-income students and their wealthier peers, which are primarily due to inequities in funding of public schools (McFarland et al., 2021). This inequality has resulted in a significant achievement gap in contemporary American public education, stunting the rising generation’s progress.
The U.S. needs to prioritize meaningful and purposeful employment and the ability to compete in an ever-changing global market, rather than focusing on standardized test scores as the final determining factor for educational achievement. While American educators continue to enforce practices and procedures, curriculum, and standards that generally do not work, the top-ranking countries on the world education list prioritize expectations for achievement that is part of their culture. These successful educational systems have established clear curriculums and goals for their children at each stage of development and have created a culture of accountability and engagement that America has lost (OECD, 2021).
To rectify its decaying public education system, America needs a long-term, comprehensive plan that acknowledges and addresses the systemic shortcomings. It must include a significant investment in early childhood education, and schools should prioritize meaningful future employment and competitiveness. We must adopt an educational model that supports long-term planning, effective leadership, and a culture founded on accountability and engagement.
Dr. Aaron Lewis, August 7, 2023
References:
- OECD. (2021). Better policies for better lives. Education rankings. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/
- Hanushek, E.A., Woessmann, L., and Zhang, L. (2021). The role of education quality in economic growth. World Economics, 22(3), 1-31.
- McFarland, J., Cui, J., and Stark, P. (2021). COVID-19 and educational inequality: the role of school funding and virtual learning. Journal of Education Policy, 1-13.
- National Institute for Early Education Research. (2021). The state of preschool 2020. Retrieved from https://nieer.org/state-preschool-2020