The State of Education in the USA
Kids are dropping out of the American public school system at alarming rates, and this not only makes our education system look even worse than it has for a long time now, but also equates to a great cost in terms of both money spent per capita on students, and even the jobs market. Following the acceptance of federal assistance, state departments of education have been forced to put evaluation programs in effect that tie teacher performance to pay, with the indicator of performance being standardized test scores. Not only does this take away from quality education, but it also puts students at risk for dropping out due to bullying and other social issues that go unaddressed in an environment where the most important thing is a test score. Students who do not score well because of factors such as bullying or things going on at home are not considered. And school districts are unable to do much about student attendance.
Here is an infographic with some stats on the state of the schools. If you have concerns, the best thing you can do is contact your local school district officials and attend local school board meetings. Also, be sure to get adt home security; with all the drop outs wandering the streets, it’s likely you’ll need it. They are all open to the public.
