(MintPress) – The struggling state of education in America has found itself at a new low, as SAT reading scores of high school students hit a four-decade low. The College Board, the SAT’s administrative service, estimates that 57 percent of test takers did not score high enough to indicate college success. College Board President Gaston Caperton noted that the results show that the education “system is failing.”
While there seems to be more tangible proof that students are no longer meeting expectations, what options does America have to right the ship?
The disappointing test scores come on the heels of a waning No Child Left Behind program signed into law by former President George W. Bush, who looked to set standards in education achievement by using standardized tests. But the system has been seen as a disappointment as most states failed to meet the requirements of a program that did not take individual states’ needs into account.
As a result, more than half of states in America have been granted a waiver from the program by implementing state standards. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said it is a positive step toward revamping education because it allows states to spend education dollars on students who need it the most.
Helen F. Ladd, a professor of public policy and economics at Duke University, said the education system began to crumble when states focused so heavily on test results rather than the needs of students.
“Some kids are coming to school hungry, some without the health care they need, without the vocabulary that middle-class kids come to school with, even in kindergarten,” Ladd told the New York Times. “If we really want to do something to close achievement gaps and raise test scores, we have to stop putting our heads in the sand and start addressing this issue.”
Where to begin?
There are endless theories and models that exist to teach children, but the current model in the U.S. has students ranked 17th in the world in student performance, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Across the United States, there are various efforts and philosophies being tested in states and cities. For one, New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has championed a plan that removes school boards from the mix and gives control to the city’s mayor. Klein says school boards get caught up in politics and lose sight of what their focal point should be.
Klein is also very strict in his approach of where children should be with their education. In a competitive global market, Klein says America needs to be at the top innovation. But the U.S. currently ranks 10th on the Global Innovation Index, down three spots from its 2011 ranking. The rankings suggest that a growing number of students cannot handle scientific or engineering degrees to compete with students in other countries.
“My core philosophy is you’ve got to start with very high and demanding standards — that’s what it’s going to take in the 21s century,” Klein said. “People say, well don’t make it too hard on the kids; but the real world is going to make it hard on our kids. When you see what’s going on in India and China and large parts of the developing world, you’re going to understand that our kids are going to face tough global competition.”
Challenging students with innovation has become the new thought process at a public high school in small town Arkansas. There, students take part in a curriculum based on engineering, communication and health care projects. Each program, or “academy,” provides students a chance to learn math, science and reading in a way that appeals to their initial interests.
During their freshman year, students at the Mountain Home Career Academies High School are tested on their learning styles, interests, skills and career aspirations. From there, students are aligned within a certain academy where they find practical uses for their attributes. Students are also allowed to change trajectories if they feel they want to try a new interest, saving them from a costly decision in college. One of the school’s teachers, Kathy Gonten, said the structure of the academies is where America needs to take its education system if it wants to meet demands.
“When I first heard we’re thinking about academies, I thought, ‘Ok, is this the next big educational thing we will go through … and then not?’” Gonten said. “But when I saw the real makeup of it, I thought, ‘This is the next big thing. This is where we should be heading.'”
Russell Rumberger, a researcher at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said the model used at Mountain Home Career Academies is reminiscent of the structure of education in many countries overseas.
“Many countries offer multiple paths to a high school diploma, including career and technical programs,” Rumberger pointed out to PBS. “We have a very monolithic conception of high school, which is a comprehensive high school with a singular diploma that everyone gets.”
Stateside spending
As part of a jobs initiative, President Barack Obama has called for similar curriculums in community and technical colleges. In February, the president advocated for funding toward job training at community colleges – deviating from traditional curriculum with the hopes of creating more job-ready individuals.
Obama has also called for a reinvestment in public schools to update technology and modernization. He said it would provide students with better access to the tools they will need to succeed in the future while creating jobs around the country during a time when projects have slowed.
“These investments would enhance the condition of our nation’s classrooms to better prepare students to compete for the jobs of the 21st century,” the White House said. “The range of critical repairs and needed construction projects would put hundreds of thousands of Americans – including construction workers, engineers, maintenance staff, boiler repairers, and electrical workers – back to work, while investing in the school infrastructure of 35,000 public schools, supporting repairs and upgrades in our nation’s community colleges, and improving the health and safety of our teachers and students.”
Obama has also been a proponent of tackling the stubborn achievement gap seen in public schools that often shows poor or minority students performing at lower levels than white or affluent students. Amy Wilkins, vice president of the Education Trust, a non-profit advocacy group for low-income and minority students, said more has to be done in terms of getting the right resources to the schools that struggle with high achievement gaps.
“The American education system consistently shortchanges the students with the greatest need on almost everything that matters when it comes to academic success. …” Wilkins said. “This is especially important when it comes to quality teaching. Nothing is more important to high achievement than strong teachers. But the very children who most need our best teachers are least likely to get them.”