What’s happening with the American educational system today? Why is public education producing such mediocre results? After eight years of educational research, I’m sad to report that circumstances are worse than most people realize. Rampant grade inflation and the use of inappropriate metrics to measure success are creating a false sense of security for parents and their children. Perhaps the most accurate indicator of the state of American schools, however, is that 30 countries around the world have surpassed the U.S. in terms of student performance. And as my research into public education continues, my concern grows for the current, and future state of our schools and our students.
The time to get serious about school reform is now.
Here is a compact picture of some of the measures of public-school success. To make this picture even worse, in America our expenditures on public education are 35% higher than the average of the developed nations.