Is public education in America failing our young people?

Education has been a popular and controversial issue recently. The common consensus appears to be agreement in believing problems are present, although the proposed solutions are very different. Public schools differ greatly in the quality of education they provide. The majority of private schools in the United States are religiously affiliated yet parents with no religious affiliation often choose the private schools regardless. It certainly is no secret that the United States falls behind other comparable nations in terms of education. Students in the United States tend to fall in the middle of international rankings concerning math, reading, and science. An interesting trend revealed by such international evaluations shows American students score near the top in reading during elementary school and the scores slowly fall as students reach eight grade and beyond. A more alarming aspect of US education is the difference between high performers and low performers, which is more extreme than any other evaluated countries. The number of students in the US reporting an enjoyment of reading is significantly lower than international numbers. US students in both higher education and public education available to all perform far below students in other nations in evaluations of critical thinking and writing ability.

Funding for education in the United States is a hotly debated topic, yet more money is spent per student in the US than any other nation. I found this information very surprising as requests for more funding in public education are nearly continuous. Further research reveals the US also spends much more on special education programs than any other comparable nation while integrating special education into the mainstream to a greater extent. I no longer believe more funding can fix our public schools and other factors must be addressed. The quality of education provided by public schools is not consistent across the country or even consistent across neighboring school districts. A very high-performing school district can border another district with very low performance. Many factors influencing public education are controversial issues with a high potential of sparking outrage if the discussion is not handled correctly. The debate concerning possible adverse consequences of placing a high priority on special education is ongoing and can be viscous. Public schools in northern states generally outperform those in southern states, although there are many exceptions. What factors are the most influential concerning public education? Controversial subjects must be handled very delicately to avoid causing outrage and irrational reactions. Do such reactions cause these issues to be avoided and prevent necessary discussion? What can we do to improve education in order to have an informed population able to think critically and make decisions in their best interests?