America: Land of The Uneducated

A recent government study in 2012 of adult literacy estimates that 16 percent of adults in the United States have difficulty with tasks like signing a form or filling out a bank deposit slip. More stunning is the estimate that about half of these adults graduated from high school, which means they’ve successfully completed twelve years of education. Even among recent graduates seeking to join the army, almost one quarter are disqualified for lack of academic preparation. In regards to college students, one study found that fewer than four if every ten graduating college students were able to compare and contrast the main ideas of two articles. Furthermore, a high percentage of college graduates only demonstrate only basic literacy levels. This raises a question: Why do American people have so poor academic skills? The causes of academic shortcomings in the United States cannot all be pointed to our school system. Many social, cultural, political, and economic factors make important contributions as well. These causes might even be more important than those directly associated with formal education, there is plenty debate over what precisely is the issue. Without doubt poverty has an important role in their educational outcomes. But our public schools contribute, rather than improve, the inequalities that children experience in other aspects of their lives. Our schools are simply not well designed to develop the skills and abilities in all youth the way we expect them to, especially among those who already have fewer advantages than others. So how do we compare with other countries? In a 2010 international test the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). American students were rated average in science and reading, and below average in math when compared with thirty five other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In math, about one in four failed to demonstrate a very low level of math proficiency. In addition to widespread underperformance among American students, one quarter of high school freshmen do not complete high school. This is the highest dropout rate among countries who report to the OECD. And among African American and Hispanic, more than one in three don’t complete high school. Another short coming of our school system is that despite a very high rate of high school graduates going to college, college graduation rate is below the average of the countries that report to the OECD; not long ago the United States had the highest. While a large majority of American youth attend college, more than half of those that enroll don’t end up with a four year degree. The main reason is that half of those who start college wind up dropping out and college dropout rates among African American and Hispanics are even higher. According to OECD college dropout is 29 percent in all other countries. Japan has the lowest dropout rate with only 9 percent. Thus the problem with our educational sys is that students don’t acquire the cognitive skills and knowledge expected from them, and they don’t persist with their studies. To be direct, our public schools don’t provide the quality of education or the quantity of educated teachers needed to guide these children toward successful proficiency.