Improving The Public High School System

Disturbingly, “nearly one-fifth of high school students and over 50 percent of middle school students are enrolled in math classes whose teachers neither majored or minored in math” (Drew, 2011, p.9). In 2000, 31 percent of high

It is very important for schools to close the achievement gap and ensure that everyone receives an equal opportunity to learn regardless of gender, race or social class. It is also important for a school district to focus on all students receiving the

There are numerous issues that plague the public education system. Several of the concerning challenges that it faces today are: The lack of familial support or guidance some students receive, the increase in the population of individuals that seem to undervalue the benefit of an education, and the test-centered curriculum structure that is applied in a majority of schools, within the system. There desperately needs to be an engagement of ideas to mend the problems that the education system faces. Not only would it allow students a better chance at exercising their full potential, but society as a whole, will reap the benefits of a well-rounded education for all.

America’s school system is dramatically declining due to the lack of preparation that America’s High-school 's fail to deliver to its students. High-schools and their incompetent teachers do not adequately prepare students for jobs in Stem fields. STEM jobs are Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers that pay wages close to double the U.S average. STEM jobs are vital in order to obtain a thriving market of new ideas and inventions in the world. Without proper teaching from qualified teachers in these particular fields many students may lose interest, not enjoy their teachings, or not even properly understand what STEM jobs are. This leaves many students unsatisfied with their experience limiting their abilities to do something great. Teachers are frequently found lacking degrees in the particular fields they teach: “Almost 40% of high-school math teachers have neither a college major nor minor in math.” (Chang 345). American students learn from unqualified teachers, hindering their ability to get a job in the fast paced twenty first century. It is important to understand the direct correlation between the mastering of essential subject matter and the success of our students to better the country. Studies have been shown to prove that teachers can change the trajectory of their students’ lives. Teachers who lack complete understanding in the fields that they teach can greatly negatively impact students lives further down the course of their lifetimes. Therefore when

Although the United States is one of the most highly industrialized nations in the world, students in many other industrialized nations are outperforming U.S. students in various academic areas. As a result, the U.S. has implemented standard-based reform, and its educational costs have soared. No longer are American graduates competing with each other for jobs, in the present global economy, they also are competing with graduates from other industrialized nations, many of whom are preforming at higher academic levels in reading, math, science, and problem solving as measured by their performance on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) (“FactSheet”1-2). The PISA is an assessment that is administered every three years to fifteen year old students in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries. The OECD consists of the world’s highly industrialized nations that comprise more than 85% of the world’s economy. (West 2) The PISA was first administered in 2000, and it has been administered every three years since that time. This assessment measures student performance in the areas of reading, mathematics and science. The 2003 and 2012 administrations of the PISA also measured students’ problem solving. On the 2009 administration of the PISA, U.S. students preformed below average in the academic areas of math and science compared to students in other OECD countries (West 2). In math, the U.S. trailed seventeen OECD countries and

[F]or more than a decade, research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have concluded that mathematics education in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country. To deliver on this promise, the mathematics standards are designed to address the problem of a curriculum that is “a mile wide and an inch deep.”

“Class, today we will work in our practice workbooks. Please complete drills nine and eleven.” One can almost hear the groans of exhausted students echo across the classroom as another day of drills and memorization passes. Unfortunately, endless drills, mountains of workbook pages, and dry, tedious lessons have become the norm in today’s classrooms across Mississippi. However, there is a bright light in the distance known as the Common Core State Standards. Common Core State Standards, which was released in 2010, is a government implemented program aimed at improving public education nationwide (“Common Core Glossary” 1). Though the standards set by Common Core will benefit the nation as a whole, Common Core will also benefit students

Ever since the ancient civilizations of Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, and India, we have used mathematics. It has guided the advancement of society and it has led to incredible discoveries. However, the amount of math students should learn has become an issue. Almost every well educated person would agree that all students should learn the value of math. By the time students reach the level of algebra, however, we see politicians, the media, students and parents arguing if they should even learn algebra. One of the reasons is that many U.S. students are failing algebra in high school and college. Algebra is the minimum requirement for all students in high school and a basic requirement in college and universities. To ask to change the

Education has been a major controversy for centuries. Whether it is about who should be educated, how students should be educated, who sets the standards, or what should be taught, Americans can’t seem to agree.

they must be reinvented. It is not enough to try to fix the schools; they must

Along with the progression of time and age, more and more students and their parents are expressing their dissatisfaction and vexation with the American public school system. Turning towards alternative methods ranging from private institutions, to removing their children from public schooling altogether and homeschooling instead, this leaves a multitude of people questioning, what is the problem, why is it present, and what is it stemming from? The answer is simple. The problem with America’s public school system is the inability of institutions to accurately see and meet the true needs of students.

The public education system expects all the children and adolescents from the ages from three to eighteen to be in school. This is to see the results of success accompanying the kids through them being economically aware and responsible to the country they reside in, to further better the scientific and technological developments in which the system invests in by funding education till the end of the secondary school and lastly to progress social skills and understanding while interacting with their peers.

According the most recent national assessment recorded in the Washington post, “the nations high school seniors have shown no improvement in math and reading performances since 2009.” In the most recent years, education has taken a huge downfall. Since 2010, over 45% of students drop out. Many students have problems with the grading system, so many different testing programs and having to follow a set of rules and not expand on those rules. The education system needs to induce more creativity, enforce the ways on how education is important and elaborate more on the rules of grading.

So far high school is working for me. If I could redesign the high school I would have a way to make the students more creative. I would try to design it in a way where students aren't afraid of their answer. They don't try to see if it is right or wrong. I would like my students to be confident in their answers. I would prepare students for college by having some college classes and teach them about college and sometimes treat them like college students.

High school is supposed to be four years of learning everything that will be needed to become a successful adult after graduation. However, it is the opinion of many that high schools are not educating students on things that will truly help them succeed in adult life. There are many supporting statements for this argument, many students have to take classes that have nothing to do with what they plan on majoring in, most students that graduate have no idea how to do their own taxes or anything like that, and they feel like teachers do not give them enough freedom in the classroom.