The history of the American educational system is unique, as it is possible to specify the time of its birth. As you know, the first settlers arrived in America in 1620, and spent the first years surviving in a completely new environment. Mothers of children, despite the hard work, constantly paid attention to the education of children. The walls of barns often became the first notebooks, and pieces of coal became pencils. The Bible was the first textbook and the basis of education. According to it, they learned to read and write, and at the same time they received a religious education. The colonists understood the importance of education for the future of their children and the preservation of the nation. And already in 1647 in the state of Massachusetts a law was passed that if more than 50 families live in one town, there must be a teacher in it. In the second half of the 17th century, 21 colleges and universities were opened in the country. That is, from the very first generation of children educated in the field and on the benches in the church, the American education system has grown to the K-12 system in the school and the advanced system of colleges and universities known throughout the world. But today, let’s talk about the problems in the American education system, because understanding the problem is the first way to solve it.
Standardized Testing: Underrated American Education System Problem
Standardized tests were invented as a single tool for measuring students’ knowledge. It should serve as a unified system for determining the level of education. It was first used to determine the knowledge level in the classroom after the topic was covered, and then it became widespread as a single fair tool for comparing students’ knowledge from school to university. But, like any system, it has its pros and cons. With all the seeming convenience for the teacher as the speed of knowledge assessment, testing is a formal approach to understanding the true level of knowledge of the student. Tests put enormous pressure on both students and teachers. Getting an education itself often slips into coaching in passing tests and endless training in the ability to answer the questions, but does not develop students’ imagination, the ability to think and solve non-standard problems. That is, testing checks the basics of learning, but does not reveal the potential of the student, the ability to think out of the box. The very word standardized testing excludes this possibility. Thus, a percentage of students is formed who are weeded out by the system itself only because of the peculiarities of their thinking, which could be of great benefit to the nation if it were further developed.
Standardized testing was once the way to solve American education system problems, but now it is just another problem we have to face. The system doesn’t force you to think much if all you need to do in the end is “guess the answer.” It also doesn’t help that while teaching is focused on solving tests, writing tasks become exceedingly complicated. If you are facing a problem with your writing, such as not being able to finish a paper on time or not being happy with the quality of your work, you can delegate your write a paper for me request and get quick and quality help online. It is a professional writing company that has helped thousands of students with their writing needs. They offer a variety of services, including essay writing, research paper writing, and editing and proofreading. Their writers are all native English speakers with years of experience in writing. They are also experts in academic writing and can help you with any type of paper you need.
Lack of Curriculum Standardization and Modernization
The debate about the appropriateness of different curriculum standards between states is ongoing in the US. Of course, when there are 50 states in the country, and each has its own educational curriculum, it is difficult to talk about some kind of standardized approach to education in general. And in the country where the definition of knowledge is based on testing, it is difficult to choose tests that will equally fairly take into account the level of education of a student, regardless of the state in which he studied. The logic of curriculum standards between states is based on the historical background of each state, and the full confidence that students should first get knowledge about what is basic for this state. For example, no matter how funny it may seem, it is believed that, for example, a student in a state where there is snow should get deeper knowledge about it, and will be able to understand the subject faster than a student in a state where there is no snow, but there is desert. And that’s just about the desert, he should know more. The American education system is considered one of the best in the world, because it tries to combine the acquisition of school knowledge with practical and social activity. But this, if we talk about the ideal system. And in practice, the federal government has no influence and powers at modifying educational institutions.
Overcrowded Classrooms and Teacher Salary: Hardest to Solve System Problems
Only at first glance, it seems that these two problems are in no way connected with each other. Or, on the contrary, it seems logical that the more crowded the classes, the higher the salary of a teacher who is trying to organize the educational process should be. In fact, one issue stems from another. Low wages impact the profession’s attractiveness. And fewer good specialists come to school. They need professional development and support, but instead they get crowded classrooms where it is difficult to just keep the focus of attention and give the opportunity to gain knowledge even to those students who are really trying to do it. All this leads to rapid turnout and high turnover rates, and this vicious cycle must be broken as soon as possible.
Education System Resistance to Change and Innovations
All the issues described earlier in this article affect the challenges of integrating technology effectively into classrooms, and cause resistance to new teaching methods. The peculiarity and main difference of modern education is that everything changes so quickly that often curricula become outdated before they are presented in full. And, this applies not only to IT technologies. The development of IT technologies impacts the development of knowledge in various areas of our lives. One could try to say that the teaching of reading and writing has remained unchanged. But even here, the school world has undergone tremendous changes. And children learn to type messages in gadgets faster than to write in school notebooks. The education system does not have time to respond to changes so quickly, and the most advantageous position will be the population of the country in which they understand the importance of continuous evolution in the education system.
This article is a call to action for educators, policymakers, parents, and stakeholders to collaborate on problems solutions in the American education system.