Is American Education Upholding Its Standards?

The American education system has many flaws. It is becoming more and more ineffective. To society, school is a competition especially in colleges and universities. People care so much about the grade they get that they forget the real reason why we even go to school; to learn. All everyone cares about is the grade that we receive. It has become so bad that we have lost sight in what’s really important; our growth as humans. We are taught that we need to get good grades in order to go to a good college, we are constantly judged on how well we do on tests using a grading, and most of the material being taught to us doesn’t even prepare us for what’s in store in the real world.

Growing up, parents, teachers, and elders always emphasize the importance of an education to the younger generations. High school students are pushed and encouraged towards college for the next big step in their life. By the time kids step into high school it’s drilled into their heads that to make something of oneself they need to pursue a college education. In reality, are high school graduates even prepared for the challenges that they will soon face? High schools are not preparing their kids for the “college experience” that in turns leaves them lacking the know-how they will need for the workforce.

Before addressing the issue of education, we need to understand how the education system works. Children usually start Elementary school at the age of six. After completing five grade levels, students move on to middle school or Junior high, and they complete this stage of schooling in three years. Then, they move on to high school, which will prepare them for college. Students take two tests in high school, a standardized test that they will have to pass in order to graduate and ACT/SAT, which is a college preparation test. Students receive grades according to how well they perform on exams, and those grades determine their GPA (grade

Education plays important role in society. It determines the final development of an adult’s personality. In today’s society most jobs require a University degree. To receive a University degree students need to rely on a good education system. Does America provide this? The American education system has relied on the grade point average system for a long time. The problem with this is there is not a universal GPA grade point system varying from course to course. This creates an inaccurate way to determine ones overall achievements. Teachers have different standards than others, grade inflation can occur and students can be exposed to different learning environments. Does the education system need to change to create fairness?

One of the most important decisions in any teenager’s life is what they decide to do after high school, the choice is usually between college and deciding to get a job and start making money. Although the cost of education in America continues to rise, the benefits of a higher education are substantial and can be seen in the success of anyone who has a college degree.

As a high school senior, post high school options are far and few, but the one that shines above the others is the option of attending college. Instead of going straight into the workforce in order to establish some sort of independence, college provides the opportunity to build upon academic skills, gain a step up in terms of work experience, and become more acquainted with the world and adult life without a watchful parent. It is a very impactful experience that can alter the path taken in life but it comes with a very high price, one that many aren’t able to pay and in turn are forced into tens of thousands of dollars in debt. However, the individuals in debt that did graduate have received something that to most of them was all worth it, a degree. With this, they have opened up more paths in life and immediately are more welcomed in the workforce.

Earning a diploma, a degree or even a trade can significantly affect one's future financial status. An education-or lack thereof- can mean the difference between being poverty stricken or financially stable. College graduates earn an average of 66 percent more than non graduates and often enjoy additional benefits, including greater job opportunities and promotions.(Source: study.org) However,  according to spotlightonpoverty.org, 69 percent of students graduate from college on time, yet many graduate without the skills needed for college or work. Without an education chances of obtaining a decent paying job is slim, which can result in a life of impoverishment. "Policymakers and education leaders must implement strategies to reduce the high school dropout rate and adequately prepare high school students for college, while providing low income students with the support they need to attain a degree or credential."

Education in America has drastically decreased in efficiency in the last fifty years. Schools in America do not care about their students, or their education; they care about the test scores achieved by their students. The American education system is severely flawed in many ways. These flaws are more dire than they are made out to be, since they incapacitate the ability of their students to learn the material taught. This occurs because it is more important to pass a class than to retain the information they obtain.

“I’ve seen too many high school graduates who have gone off to college in September but are back home with mom and dad in December. And I’ve seen those who have made it through the first year but transferred back home to a community college for the second.” Lawrence B Schlack is a retired superintendent who strongly protests the idea that college is the only path to success and encourages students to take their time to decide whether or not they are ready to move on into the real world. In this generation, teenagers are made to think that without college, it is impossible to live a successful and prosperous life. Schlack claims that there are many paths to a successful life, and that seniors who can’t declare they are college bound are made to feel like failures. Schlack firmly supports his claims with multiple facts, examples, and statistics.

When we were younger, we were told that we had the world at our fingertips and that anything was possible. We could be anything we wanted and not have to worry about a thing, except maybe disappointing our parents. However, as we grew up, it became quite clear that that is no longer the case. The price of college has skyrocketed within the past 20 years, while the average income for a family has remained relatively the same. With a college diploma becoming more and more necessary to get a decent paying job and colleges being too much to pay for,

“Education is critical, college is not.” (Live Careers) As straightforward as it is, college isn’t for everyone. There are a plethora of reasons for not going to college, but it feels like a norm in current time. When you graduate high school, you are normally 17 or almost 18 which means that you are capable of your life after you’re handed the high school diploma. If a student doesn’t see college in their future, or it isn’t their dream, then they shouldn’t feel required to attend. An alternative could possibly be to get an entry level job, military, or volunteering. The point here is, college after high school isn’t necessary. While college provides tons of information and knowledge and could expand the range of hardworking jobs for an individual, it´s very expensive and proven to put students in massive debt. Some college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require college degrees, and after college they may have the degrees and knowledge, but they will have to pay of the debt before they are able to invest in anything as an adult.

This leads us to another big issue, the fact that many students are not properly prepared by their school or college counselors in order to get through the college process or to achieve beyond getting admitted into a school. Jason Deparle from The New York Times reports about three students who showed a promising future after they graduated high school. However four years passed and not one of them has achieved a degree, and a big reason was that they were not prepared to meet ends meet in

How great would it be to graduate from high school and have a job waiting for you that provides all you need? Unfortunately, this isn't a possibility for the majority of the people today. Today, a postsecondary education is standard for people obtain a job to sustain the comfort of their daily lives. Receiving a higher education positively impacts a variety of important aspects of a person's life. Education has been linked to influence community activity, personal health, unemployment and our economy. Author of “Bell Curve”, Charles Murray, has the opinion that we are wasting our time trying to educate too many people and only 10 to 20 percent of college attendees should be there(Perry, para 1). Robert T. Perry, author of “On “Real Education””,

Because students in the twenty-first century now have a lot more expectations to fill and schooling has become extremely expensive, college-age kids are starting to question on whether school after high school is really worth it. Many students have a strong belief that college is necessary and will benefit them in the future by “reap[ing] the rewards in the long run”. Jobs, nowadays, are expecting at least a bachelor's degree in a field for young adults to be hired. A great tip that many people are learning about is taking two years of community college and then going to a more expensive school for the last two years, which is a very smart decision to save money. Another notable strategy to solving this problem of schooling is to set the lifetime

In “Colleges Prepare People For Life” Freeman, Hrabowski states that “College graduates are much more likely to be employed than those with only a high school diploma and earn substantially higher salaries” (260). He then goes on to say that college not only will prepare people for jobs but will also prepare them for life in general. It becomes a beginning of a very bright future. Hrabowski supports this by saying that “ fewer than 10 percent of Americans from the lowest income quartile have earned a college degree by age 24, compares to 80 percent of those in the top quartile” (261). The more counseling that people are getting the better they can identify the best option for them. There is more at stake other than just not having financial