Strategiesto Improve the Education System
Variousreports reveal that, the United States is lagging behind in thesector of education. From recent statics, students from countrieslike Shangai, Finland, South Korea and China outperform those fromAmerica in almost all the subjects. The section below highlights waysin which the US can improve its education system.
Onestrategy that the U.S. can employ to improve its education system isto shift focus from standardized tests. According to Nelson(2014),a testing culture hinders student`s development as a whole and deniesone the chance to have a well-rounded development to fit in today`shighly competitive and smart world. A country like Chine, despite itsgood performance in education, has initiated reforms to wipe awaystandardized tests. Instead of focusing on standardized tests, theU.S. education system should be improved in a manner that it providesall-round development for the student. Most importantly, theeducation system should aim to improve student engagement not only inarithmetic and reading but all other aspects of life.
Theeducation system can also be improved by increasing the number ofschool days. Currently, the U.S. school calendar comprises of 180days, being one of the shortest in the world. Top-performing nationsin education such as Finland and Japan have longer school calendars.The added days will ensure the teachers have ample time to focus onchallenging topics and cover the syllabus without any rush(Granderson,2011).
Moreover,the education system can be improved if the government puts measuresto ensure accountability, which is crucial for closing theachievement gap (Donohue,2014).If the performing schools are not held accountable, the students,most of them minority or low income, will continue to lose the chanceto attain any significant education achievements.
References
Donohue,T.J. (2014). FiveWays to Improve Education.Retrieved from:
https://www.uschamber.com/above-the-fold/five-ways-improve-education
GrandersonL.Z. (2011). Weneed year-round school to compete globally.Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/10/granderson.yearround.school/
Nelson,H. (2014). Testing More, Teaching Less. AUnion of Professionals. Retrievedfrom: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sp9AcUMGeY4J:www.aft.or g/sites/default/files/news/testingmore2013.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefo x-b-ab