College | Michael R Lewis, ASJA

August 14, 2014January 1, 2024

Are America’s Schools Failing?

A headline in the December 2013 issue of The Atlantic claimed that American schools compared to the rest of the world—the members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)—were “expensive, unequal, bad at math.” Their conclusion was based upon American student performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2012. Far East countries such as China, Korea, and Japan were top performers, while most European and Scandinavian countries ranked higher than the U.S. as well. Even the country’s former Cold War competitor, the Russian Federation, ranked higher than the United States in the assessment.

At the same time, Universitas 21, a global network of research-intensive universities, ranked the American higher education system—its colleges and universities—as the best in the world in 2014, a rank it has retained for years. It is also the reason that foreign students flock to the United States from around the globe.

So what is the truth about the American school system? Is it a success or a failure? What should we expect from our schools, and how can we improve them?

History of Public Education in the United States

Contrary to popular belief, the right to an “education” is not mentioned in the Constitution. In the early years of the republic, public education was considered important to the nation’s progress as evidenced by the granting of more than 77 million acres of public domain to the individual states for the support of public schools. At the same time, the responsibility for education was delegated to state and local governments. The Federal Government was not heavily involved in the administration of public education until the end of the Civil War, establishing the original Office of Education in 1867.

It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the Federal Government assumed a dominant position in the administration of education, primarily stimulated by racial discrimination. A second driver for the Federal Government’s increased role was the perceived failure of the state-run schools, especially in science and math, compared to national rivals. The passage of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was in direct response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik as a consequence of the general perception that “American schools and colleges were not producing the quantity and quality of scientific and technical specialists necessary to keep pace with the Soviet Union.”

As a consequence, the first federal student loans capitalized with U.S. Treasury funds for college students in science, math, and foreign languages were instituted. Since that time, financial assistance has alternated between direct loans capitalized with U.S. Treasury funds and loans from private parties secured by federal guarantees.

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September 10, 2013January 3, 2024

Should You Take Online Courses?

According to College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year was $8,655 for state residents attending public colleges, $21,706 for out-of-state residents attending public universities, and $29,056 for students attending private colleges. These expenses don’t include the cost of housing, meals, books, school supplies, clothing and personal needs, or transportation expenses, which can equal or exceed the cost of tuition.

Accordingly, many students and parents are considering the use of online long distance learning (LDL) courses as a method to reduce the expense of college education. The question is, can LDL courses realistically replace the benefits of an on-campus degree?

7 Ways to Reduce the Cost of A College Education

According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college the fall following graduation. While most experts agree that a college education affects annual earnings by at least $20,000 (an estimated $1 million over the course of a working career), a 2011 Pew Research poll reported that more than 75% of Americans think a college education has become too expensive to afford.

In a May 2013 interview with US News & World Report, former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett advised parents that they shouldn’t “automatically or reflexively send their kids to college,” noting that there are 115,000 janitors in the U.S. with bachelor degrees today. His recently published book, “Is College Worth It?“, notes there will be 14 million jobs available in 2018 requiring more than a high school education, but less than a college diploma. Bennett also claims that a community college graduate, on average, makes more today than a graduate of a four-year university. That said, according to the Pew Poll, 86% of college graduates believe that college was a good investment, with 7 out of 10 stating the experience gave them maturity and intellectual growth, as well as job preparedness.

Whatever your feelings about the value of a college degree, there’s no denying that education is expensive. If you or your child wants to pursue a degree, there are ways to reduce educational expenses and avoid the long-term financial burden of extensive student loans.

Should You Consider an Internship?

Internships, both paid and unpaid, have become increasingly popular over the last decade with employers and candidates. Employers have long recognized the significant expenses incurred to identify, recruit, hire, and train employees, only to lose the employee who then quits and moves to another company or industry. Presently, one in three employees in the U.S. leaves his or her job for a new position each year – this is substantially higher than the rate of one in four that existed in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The associated financial costs, trade secret security risks, and loss of productivity for companies, as well as the delayed advancement opportunities for employees, have spurred both parties to embrace company internships as a “trial run,” a period where each can realistically determine whether a long-term relationship would be mutually beneficial. And whether they stay on board, interns can gain a wealth of practical experience that can set them on the path to a long and rewarding career.