Artemis

New study just came out on our American students... have now dropped down to the 36 placement to sixty five other countries. Your thoughts?

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

I would like to see the numbers of Chinese students in us colleges. They literally have millions, most going back after graduation. Not because they can't stay but because family is more important.

Think about this people what it all implies.

jay-are

What was the highest place American students ever held, and when did that happen?

The answer is to go back to doing what was working and stop going "forward" with the c*******t agenda.

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

No Child Left Behind. What other nation reports the number of children not in school?

Artemis

This is simply about education,why are the children either not learning or not retaining what they've learned. This is not a political or religious issue.

Artemis

You tell me, what does this imply?

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

So a ranking by political state of education is not political?

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

No, it's not about education !!!

I have several degrees one in education, and my ex is a principle in an inner city school.

I saw it for years denying the root cause of high drop out rates, low performance and overall decline of quality out comes.

Massive amounts of money on special programs, paid for breakfasts n lunches, early childhood development etc etc etc.

Here is black n white in your face answer it's the family or lack there of that is the problem. We have several generations of t***sient children who have no stable safe environment to live in.

The Mpls school district has quantifiable studies done that when a student is in the same school for 1 full year their GPA goes up one full letter grade.

You can't learn if your parents aren't there, you don't know where your going to sleep tonight or if your even going to get dinner.

I have no idea how we break this cycle. This isn't it takes a community its about how to instill personal responsibility for family and children. We have destroyed the number one most important thing in creating good future citizens.

I know I rant at times but please listen to me this time. We may not be able to solve all of the problems we have but we can make a difference, maybe it's just one life but if we all volunteer just a few hours maybe together we can make that 3000 children.

:-D

Artemis

I understand,and I am listening, I try to listen to every post I read. I'm glad I'm not the only one with this concern. But these are more on social issue's than education, though your right it is all imp-actual on each and every student. We have to work with in our own limits.

For the children in school, why are they not learning? You say it is all the parents fault for not parenting. I would have to say that is 50% of the reason,simply because wh**ever we do we own half of the relationship.
What are we doing today that is different than, even long ago?I realize language changes, but our vocabulary alone has diminished greatly. Newspapers print for the average fifth grader.

As we rise in technology, are our minds turning into a bowl of jello? For example I know that children no longer need to write in cursive. Well there may be mental benefits to the brain simply by learning and writing cursive, I don't know, it's possible.

I was hoping to make this is not about blame, just a discussion for some resolve.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

You are approaching the question from an educational corrective action plan. Why is the rest of the world doing better on standardized testing than American children. Is it the way we are teaching, is it the curriculum, are we dumbing them down with elementary level media, have we lowered expectations.

And the answer is yes to all of those. I will provide statistics when I get the chance to pull them up but the number 1 cause is parental guidance and instilling values in our children.

Asian countries are excelling and they are immersed in the same modern world we are and quite often even more so in large dense populated cities.

As I pointed out in my 1st response when it comes to the Chinese family is a huge factor in their lives.

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

I find a bigger factor is dumping bad scorers. Students who don't score high, do not continue in their education. Thus comparing the USA's standard test scores with China, or even Germany, skews the perspective. That we don't rank dead last is the shocker.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

Yes, you are probably correct but hard to say with so many variables. If we are talking let's say Germany or any Scandinavian country they look at any schooling past middle school very different than we do here. So are we ranked 36th in comparison to tech high school graduates or college bound high schools.

Here is what I do know. In Mpls every year there is an elementary school that will finish last in standardized test scores. The following year the school district throws tons of money at it to bring it up from dead last. If that same school finishes last a second time all of the administration is fired and they bring in new people. No test scores are graded at the school level minimizing c***ting by the faculty.

Teachers, schools and communities work very hard at ensuring high levels of success. It isn't the dedication of our teaching professionals that is the problem.

We should probably only compare our current test scores to our own previous test scores and not with systems that fundamentally so different.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

I did most of my elementary education in Australia. I spent one semester, during the 10th grade, in the US. In every subject I was ahead by two years. When I returned to Australia, I was so far behind I barely caught up. I have since watched my nieces struggle with college subjects that I covered in high school.
In other countries "Teacher" is an honored profession, here it's a job. There, teachers develop course curriculum, here some Phd ( who has little experience ) does it. There, the entire country works off the same curriculum. Here, every school district does what it wants. There, teachers are involved with education all the way up to national level. Here, politicians control education past the local level.
We do NOT have to be so unique, so American that we raise stupid children. Bring back the three R's and discipline and we might get out of this mess.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

Between 4th n 5th grade I moved from an inner city to a suburban school district and there was that same discrepancy as you described from Australia to the US.

My kids went to a very good high school in a very good suburb school district. There were even huge differences in the curriculum of college credit courses from one high school in the district to other high schools in the district.

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

Your personal account exemplifies Constitutional Libertarian's statements concerning moving from school to school, even within a town, you can have the same experience. It is improper placement and unrecognized problems or achievements of new students.

If your children are stupid, it is not the school's fault, that is bad genetics. If your children are ignorant, that is the school's fault, to a degree.