Discussing the latest issue about education in the U.S. will bring you to several facts that have become alarming. PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, has collected data of American students’ performance and compared it to the data of the internationals. The result is very mediocre. In this article, we are going to talk about articles on education issues specifically in the United States of America. These issues have been rolling for years now and if people do nothing then the education gaps will be bigger in the future.
Unequal access to education
Basically, access to education varies according to their class, gender, race, and geographic location. As in most countries, as well as in the United States, people with higher education will have the opportunity to enjoy a higher status on the economy matters, prestige, power, and income levels. However, dropout rates are higher in certain areas or locations especially among minorities in many aspects.
In some locations, private high schools are the best high schools. This thing might make the poorer students cannot get the best education due to the tuition that cannot be afforded. The public schools in the U.S. have some lags behind the schools of the developed countries especially in the areas of science, math, and reading, which could have something to do with the U.S. Department of Ed.
English as a second language
The term of English as a second language or ESL refers to the study or use of English by speakers with different languages when it comes to native. Other terms that may refer to similar things above are such as English for speakers of other languages or ESOL and English as a foreign language or EFL. In general speaking, immigrants and their children, as well as refugees, are grouped into the ELL or English Language Learners. They must take ESL so they can be a function in the U.S.
Supporters of ESL programs make a claim that the formation of peer networks is affected by their roles. Having and learning English as their second language could drop down the pressure of making mistakes when talking to peers or speaking in class. Programs of ESL allow students to meet other non-native speakers from different countries and it helps to promote multiculturalism and racial tolerance.
However, there might be potential language barriers that could affect the learning process and education of the refugees or other non-native speakers. In fact, ELL students are often considered as similar to those with lower ability due to their lower test scores. It basically may not measure academic ability accurately. And it actually becomes one of the current articles on education.
On the other hand, the ELL students tend to drop out and the schools may let them along with other students with lower scores to drop out to raise the school’s average test scores. It also makes the ELL students face some issues when it comes to applying for enrolling to college due to inadequate credits in English. Even online education in the U.S.A. will ask the applicants to provide a certain minimum score to pass, which becomes another latest issue about education in the U.S.
There are several reasons why the students in the U.S. drop out of their school which will lead them to another potential consequence of it. As we have mentioned earlier, higher education will allow people to have higher income, higher standard level, and better life chances. Of course, it should be the concern of the education board in the U.S.A as well.
Education is supposed to give meaning to those and chances for people by improving the opportunity of employment and social networking. Basically, the rates of student dropouts vary in each area and the lowest rates are located in the northern states. The correlation of students with their peers could influence someone’s tendency of dropping out. It should be the concern of the federal board of education as well for sure.
Violence in schools
Educational websites for teachers may give enlightenment to the teacher. However, school violence is also a serious problem around the world, especially in the United States. This case leads to social and individual risk factors. Of course, it should be the concern of the student department of education as well.
School violence gives several individual risk factors. It includes the tendency of one to externalize the issues or act out. It has something to do with reading problems, low IQ, and developmental delays. On the other hand, the social risk factors may include certain characteristics in the school environment, violent neighborhoods, and the unstable environment at the home.
When a community in a neighborhood has a high rate of crime and drug use then it could affect a student’s behavior related to violence in school. Bullying is not only involving a group of students but also one student alone. The easiest bullying to identify is physical bullying and some of them may use weapons as well. Nowadays, cyber-bullying is a thing too. No one could even detect it if the authorities do not work fast, which include the board of education number too.
Homeschooling
The motivations behind homeschooling might vary. However, it may raise some dissatisfaction when it comes to the school environment, academic instruction quality, and religious or moral reasons. Each state has a different legal status of homeschooling but in many cases, the students have to meet a series of requirements related to a certain assessment. Alongside the ministry of education number, this should be done in order to ensure education quality.
Students who choose to homeschool over traditional schools could have a lot more access to get resources. They also have the right to join extracurricular activities. Even though homeschooling is the education at home, it is not as same as the online courses. Homeschooling is only available for school students. Many of them have lesser social interactions compared to those who go to traditional schools. And this is the end section of the latest issue about education in the U.S.
