The United States Is Falling Behind Of Tertiary Education

In Dr. Richard Vedder’s, “For Many, College Isn’t Worth It”, he applies numerous examples of pathos and ethos throughout his commentary on the United States’ oversaturation of undergraduate degrees and post-graduate unemployment rate; but these examples are rather weak. Instead of blaming public, more affordable state

Education is an integral part of society, School helps children learn social norms as well as teach them to be successful adults. The school systems in United States, however are failing their students. In the world as a whole, the United States is quickly falling behind other countries in important math and reading scores. The United States ranked thirtieth in math on a global scale and twentieth in literacy. This is even more true in more urban, lower socio-economic areas in the United States. In West Trenton Central High School was only 83% proficiency in literacy and only 49% of the students were proficient in math. These school have lower test scores and high dropout rates. Many of these students come from minority backgrounds and are often form low income families. There are many issues surrounding these urban schools. There is a severe lack of proper funding in these districts, and much of the money they do receive is sanctioned for non-crucial things. Schools also need a certain level of individualization with their students, and in many urban classes, this simply does not happen. While there are many factors affecting the low performance of urban schools, the lack of proper funding and distribution of funds, the cultural divide between teachers and students in urban districts, along with the lack of individualization in urban classrooms are crucial factors to explain the poor performance in these districts. Through a process of teacher lead budget committees and

In 1947, the Truman Commission expressed their concern with America’s status as being the leading nation. Plaguing issues that occurred during the post-World War II era put an emphasis on the need for a skilled workforce and accessible post-secondary education for American citizens (Kim and Rury, 2007). While four-year institutions were available, a gap was placed in higher education achievement for those who were interested in workforce development and general education.

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

“What’s the key to success in the United States?”(Steinberg,2010), author Jacques Steinberg starts off his article “Plan B: Skip College” with a powerful question that has been asked by many Americans. Majority of Americans first thoughts would be higher education. The ideology that obtaining a degree is the best and sometimes only way to be successful in the American economy. This has been instilled in numerous children growing up. Steinberg states “perhaps no more than half of who began a four-year bachelor's degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years according to the department of education”(Steinberg,2010). Students who tend to not excel in high school often take longer, or at times finish a higher education at all. These

Even though the rise in the number of college graduates had positively impacted the American economy by leading to the growth of the pay gap, yet it’s still not enough. The reason is that the short number of college graduates is mainly due to the lack of

As a recent analysis, America’s colleges and universities are quietly shifting the burden of their big tuition increases onto low-income students, while many higher-income families are seeing their college costs rise more slowly, or even fall” (Eskow). Though education is the basic human right, most of the people in the U.S. are not being able to gain it as because of its rising cost. Since the 1970s, tuition and fees at public institutions have increased by more than 350 percent, while pay for working- and middle-class households has stagnated. As a result, the cost of a public-college education now accounts for almost 15 percent of the average family's annual income; 40 years ago it was about 4 percent (Kenneth W. Warren and Samir Sonti). The tuition and fees are increasing in such a way that the young Americans aren’t as educated as the young citizens of many other developed countries. The U.S. ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42%).” When all adults of working age are considered, the US is still one of the highest-educated countries in the world. But when this age group is considered, we are falling behind (Richard Eskow). That’s the personal loss for the young people of the U.S. Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is the inalienable right of every people. It is a powerful tool by which people can lift

Success is attainable by all students except when circumstances of one’s environment prevent forward movement. If access to graduation is equitable and attainable, students will be prepared to enroll and persist in college thereby increasing their opportunities for success and high qualities of life. Swanson (2009) reiterates a focus of the Obama campaign on graduate rates as most important because the diploma is not only a source of economic benefit but of preparation for global competitiveness. Increased graduations rates stand to serve an increase in national economy while lifting students most at risk from poverty. The impact of education on poverty is found through increasing access to graduation. Swanson (2009) suggests that attainment of higher levels of education is not enough, the

In the United States, literacy rate for both female and male sits at 99 per cent. This percentage translates into Americans having the ability to read and write and to use basic numeracy. However, over the past years the United States,in comparison to other developed nations has been constantly ranked in the bottom tier for low educational attainment. According to Pearson- the world’s leading learning company-, United States ranks fourteenth out of forty countries in the category of “cognitive skills and educational attainment”. This decline is sadly portrayed through the “32 million adults in the U.S. [that] can not read, [which is] 14 percent of the population...[as well as the] 19 percent of high school graduates who can not read”. Moreover, the rising inability of American students to compete in the global job market is yet another indicator of the growing failure of US education system. There is little emphasis on learning foreign languages or in understanding the relations and operations of other countries. This void in the international job market is now being filled with students from South Korea, Poland, United Kingdom, and Finland. In order for the United States to start effectively competing in the international job market, the spotlight should shift away from the ‘liberal arts versus technical universities’ debate or from the concerns over the debt students accrue whilst attending universities. Indeed, these are problems that need to be fixed but these problems

William Bennett, former secretary of education, once argued that: “Too many people are going to college.” In the search for a career, Bennett believes, a college education provides less advantage than is commonly assumed, thus luring students to take loans. He would prefer to see the United States emulate countries like Germany, where most young people are tracked into vocational training, and he wants more Americans who do go to college to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics rather than what he calls “irrelevant material.” Before attempting college at all, students should “critically evaluate the data: student-loan debt, return on investment,

In his essay titled “Yes A College Education Is Worth the Costs,” published in USA Today, former president of Southern Virginia University and a law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law Rodney K. Smith, raises his concern about people willing to invest in material things rather than their future. By using the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the unemployed population to show that the unemployment rate is caused by the absences of graduates to satisfy the jobs in demand, he tries to convince the reader of the importance of education. As a 2010 report by the BLS indicates compared to 14.9% unemployed people without a high school diploma, only 1.9% graduates with a doctoral degree are unemployed. In addition, the average weekly income of a high school degree holder is 1106 less than a doctoral degree holder (qtd in Smith).

On the other side, the economy of Texas and Florida lost 33,000 jobs in September 2017, unemployment rates also dropped down to 4.2%. Unemployment situation is increasing seriously in America. Finding a job is so hard, and recruitment company always required their employees who have bachelor or master degree, they also compete each other for getting a job. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association reported a high school degree earned a median average of $300,000 per year; nevertheless, bachelor’s degrees and advanced degrees earned from $50,000 to $70,000 a year. Therefore, if we don’t have a good education, our dream will be compromised. Furthermore, preparing a good education is the best investment because it helps us live out American Dream that is called a success and finance. America is developed country so education is a necessary factor for growing economies. Otherwise, a good education is known as our honor and outward appearance that give us more confident to contact with many people. Evidently, person isn’t complete perfect if they don’t have education because it is not only a key to success but also a door to open our

In the status quo there are numerous problems worth debating. However, one current issue of society seems to always be in the national conversation- college education. To demonstrate, this subject has never been more relevant than it is now because of the copious amount of people affected. While there may be temporary financial drawbacks in getting a college education, most will still benefit in the long run from the outweighing advantages.

He suggests that the decline in college attendees coincides with the economy’s increasing availability on job opportunities. Ehrenfreund includes statistics concerning the comparable percentage of the declining rates of college attendance between 2011 and 2015. One of which states the following, “According to the clearinghouse data released last week, just 7 million Americans over 24 are enrolled in colleges this spring – a decrease of 11 percent from the apex in 2011”. However, his data collection only concerns the population of those older than 24 years of age. What about the percentage rate of those that have graduated from high school up until 23 years of age? Ehrenfreund presumes, “Many Americans have found that education isn’t necessary to get ahead.” He briefs on the notion that employers are no longer looking for an extensive résumé on educational background. Additionally, he coins the idea that people are only enrolled in college due to the element of not being able to find a

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, college education has been available for everyone and anyone who is willing to develop their knowledge regarding a specific professional field. Currently in the United States, the percentage of high school graduates going to college has increased considerably: 68 percent in 2011 compared to 49 percent in 1940 (Menand, 2) and the record high set in 2009 with 70 percent of total high school graduates enrolled in college ("Bureau of Labor Statistics"). Notwithstanding, it has come to the attention of many that the college tuition and fees have been increasing at an accelerated rate. According to The New York Times, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 (Lewin, 1). This