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American public schools continue to rank behind those of other industrialized nations. Our youth are simply not receiving the education they need or deserve to meet the needs of an increasingly competitive and challenging world. President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" Act, however well-meaning, is insufficient to produce the changes that are needed in the American public school system. Increased accountability is important, and schools do need to implement some forms of standardized testing systems to gauge student performance. However, budget cuts of schools result in lackluster teaching, overcrowding in classrooms, and a lack of support for stimulating programs in such subjects as science, art, music, and physical education. Therefore, while many public schools across America are improving their test scores and increasing the rigorousness of their curricula, we still have a long way to go before American public schools can be ranked as high as those in other industrialized nations.
One of the main challenges, if not the main challenge, that American public schools face is the amazing diversity of the student body. Students with various needs are crowded into the same classroom, and teachers have few resources to draw from in order to accommodate their individual needs. The most important factors in providing educational equity include improving access to educational and community services for people with special needs and for people whose first language is not English. Parents and students need to participate fully in the educational process. Also, teachers need to be aware of the specific needs of students from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds and alter curriculum accordingly. Another key factor in improving educational equity is ensuing that students who are struggling academically receive all the support they need from as early an age as possible. Rather than stick struggling students into remedial classes thereby negatively labeling them for life, educators need to stimulate their unique talents and abilities in order to help them thrive.
... Only one in 100 high school seniors could write a coherent response of more than one paragraph to an essay question; and only 7% of high school seniors could read at advanced level." (Hanushek) In the light of this vast body of very forceful evidence, we cannot but agree that our public education system has deteriorated to the extent that we can no longer expect our public schools to produce
Public Schools vs. Private Schools - Culturally appropriate education Review of the literature Education and culture Teaching dispositions Outmoded educational model Would vo-tech be a better public school goal? Developing the person instead of the mind Opposition to change in public schools Alternatives to public and private school School reform has been a constant theme of public debate for much of the past two decades. Standardized testing, which was supposed to solve the problem of poorly prepared students graduating
In fact, the No Child Left Behind Act, and other standardized test-based programs are "increasing incentives for school administrators to allow [poorly performing] students to quietly exit the school system ("Negative Implications," 2008). Being a high school drop out in today's society is not easy for these students, many of whom may already be disadvantaged in a variety of means. When they are simply allowed and encouraged to drop
Public School Prayer: Is it Constitutional and Moral? Proponents of allowing public school prayer cite both legal and moral reasons to allow prayer in public schools. On a legal basis they state that banning prayer in public schools is a violation of our First Amendment right of Free Exercise. From a moral standpoint they cite the so-called degeneration of the public school system and the so-called declining quality of public education
Public schools' incorporation of sexual education and family planning courses have led to a decline in teen-age pregnancies. Sexual education curriculum Background of history of school incorporation Who takes the classes What is taught Perceived effects on teenagers thoughts about sexuality Knowledge of sexually transmitted disease Impact on self-esteem Peer pressure to engage in sexual acts Forms of preventing pregnancy Abstinence Forms of birth control School's role in providing information Family's role in providing information Comparison of number of teenage pregnancies from 20, 10
Violence in Public Schools The recent violence on school grounds (including elementary, middle school and high school violence) has created a climate of fear in American public schools, and the literature presented in this review relates to that fear and to the difficulty schools face in determining what students might be capable of mass killings on campus. Television coverage of school shootings leave the impression that there is more violence on