By: Matheus Almeida Ogleari

Over the course of his campaign as well as his term in office, President Obama has proposed some changes to America’s education system. One such change is to give graduating students who attend college $4,000 in exchange for things such as community service or participation in the Peace Corps. He also proposed lengthening the time that kids spend at school.

President Obama acknowledges the deep-seated problems with the U.S.’s education system that many Americans overlook. This is not surprising, as many people, especially those who drive policy-making, are highly educated. The U.S. has indeed produced a large pool of intellectuals through history, so it would appear as if the system is fine.

As fortunate as these people may be to have acquired a good education, the system is not perfect. Society should be judged by the well-being of its entire people as a whole, not merely the top few. The U.S. education system is no different—its overall picture, contrary to popular belief, is less impressive than what the U.S.’s status in the world would suggest.

An estimated 25% of U.S. students--one in four--do not graduate from high school. This is a dangerously large proportion, which has serious implications. It can be demonstrated from this number the large discrepancies between schools in the U.S. There are a great number of schools across the country that produce impressive statistics with graduation rates in the high 90s. Students in the Ivy League and other top colleges can relate to such schools because of the tendencies for these schools to produce students of high caliber and preparation.

In order for good secondary schools like these to exist while remaining consistent with the national graduation rate in the 70s, there must also exist a multitude of schools whose graduation rates could go as low as the 50. Such disturbingly low rates and astoundingly high variance in the data presents a strong indication that something is wrong with the system. However, there is only so much that graduations can tell about the performance of students. Graduation means that students met their particular school’s standards, which could possibly skew data.

Graduation rates also differ heavily between different races and socio-economic classes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic, for example, have graduation rates as low as in the 40s or low 50s in some regions. This is a big difference from Caucasians and Asians, whose graduation rates are in the low 80s.

Further investigation into education statistics yield numbers with similar implications. According to the U.S. Department of Education, “32 percent of 4th graders can read at grade level,” “17 percent of 12th graders are proficient in math,” and “18 percent of 12th graders are proficient in science.” These are some of the many results of the Department of Education’s studies. These numbers seem low, and would not seem as bad if the U.S. fared better than other countries, which is not the case. According to William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education, American 12th graders rank 19th out of 21 industrialized countries in mathematics achievement, 16th out of 21 nations in science, and last in advanced physics.

Post-secondary education rates are very low as well, with roughly 30% of the U.S. having a post-secondary education. This still ranks lower than other industrialized nations, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Based on all this data, it can clearly be established that a problem exists with the system. The main question that must be addressed is how to fix the problem. President Obama’s proposals may perhaps be viable to help solve the problem.

His first proposal regarding the $4,000 credit awarded to college students in exchange for a variety of services has a good underlying concept but may be insignificant. Although a government subsidy would technically encourage greater participation, the difference is far too negligible. For colleges in the U.S. whose prices range anywhere from $14,000 per year for some public schools to $50,000 per year for some private schools, $4,000 is not that much. It would be if the price of post-secondary education in the U.S. were more like that of the United Kingdom, where college tuition is capped at £3225 annually.

Obama’s proposed subsidy makes sense, but does not go far enough to cause drastic change. At greater values, it could definitely yield a significant increase of students in college. This would assist in solving the problem, but money is not the only barrier for college entry and graduation. Students first need to be adequately prepared to enter college and then they must have the motivation to do so. These issues must also be addressed in complement with the President’s proposal to truly yield results.

President Obama’s other proposal to lengthen the amount of schooling kids receive tries to address the other problem of low proficiencies and performances in different academic subject areas. Indeed, longer class times or more days in school would definitely improve students in this sense, but how necessary is it? Efficiency must also be taken into consideration for implementing a change in the system of this kind.

Comparing to other countries, there is little indication that more school time would be the best solution to improving performance. According to MSNBC, “kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013)… despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the United States (180 days).”

It would not necessarily be harmful to lengthen the school day, but it should be done as efficiently as possible. Before doing so, it would be best for the U.S. to re-allocate its current time investment in education to better serve the students. If the aforementioned countries can outperform the U.S. in less school time, there should be no excuse for why the U.S. cannot match them.

It would also be greatly helpful for teachers to be paid more, for they are the foundation of any educational system. Many good teachers who have the capability to both better educate students in school and better motivate and prepare them for college are discouraged by the shockingly low pay. According to the New York Times, “the salary [listed] for a high school teacher in the United States with 15 years experience as $36,219, above the international average of $31,887 but behind seven other countries and less than 60 percent of Switzerland's $62,052… [but] teachers in the United States have a heavier classroom load -- teaching almost a third more hours than their counterparts abroad -- their salary per hour of actual teaching is $35, less than the international average of $41 (Denmark, Spain and Germany pay more than $50 per teaching hour, South Korea $77).”

It is necessary that a plan also be proposed regarding the upsetting discrepancies between the various demographics. There are few to no proposals at the federal level to eliminate these differences and promoting equity in education. This problem is highly reminiscent of the struggles and social pressures that these groups hoped to overcome during the Civil Rights Movement. Failure to tackle this problem is unacceptable and shameful.

It is admirable and important that President Obama introduced these ideas. Whether or not the American people support specific aspects of his plan, he has put education reform on the agenda. Education in the U.S. is often taken for granted and disregarded as other current issues seem to constantly overshadow it. Education determines the very civility and progress of a society. Solving such an issue would reduce the severity of other problems the nation faces. Given the widespread influence of educational institutions in everyday life as well as the public aspect of the education system, it is vital that the government take some drastic action to resolve these barriers to success.