The Pros And Cons Of The American Education System

Superior Essays
The United States of America has a long history of success, including everything from the Revolutionary War to World War 2. Just as America has evolved, other countries have as well, becoming more focused on education unlike America. While the American education system has some obvious merits, there are also some significant flaws. The recent PISA scores are an excellent example of the lack of progress in the American education system. The Program for International Student Assessment otherwise known as PISA is an international assessment that measures 15-year-old students' real world problem solving in reading, mathematics, and science literacy on a scale of a 1000 point scale. PISA is administered every three years by the Organization for …show more content…
The tests lasted for 2 hours, and had a mixture of open-ended and multiple-choice questions that are organized into different categories. A total of about 390 minutes of test items are covered. Each student takes a different combination of different tests to assure that a broad type of questions are able to be answered in the amount of time that is given. The school's principal is also required to answer questions of the students' background, schools, and learning environment. The test design and data analysis are delegated to an international association of research and educational institutions led by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) where the tests are also scored. The scores are then released to the public, where each country is scored and compared to one …show more content…
Finland's educational system is done very differently from the U.S, they spend less money per student, have almost no homework, and only have one standardized test when they are 16, natheless, they perform with the top nations on international standardized tests. Finland places all students together in small classrooms of only 16 students. There are no advanced classes and no remedial classes. Those who need more help however are given more attention so that they can continue on successfully. Teachers work hard to ensure the wellbeing of their students and are upheld with the same respect as doctors and lawyers. Only the top 10% of graduates are even able to be accepted into teacher training programs, and all teachers are required to have at least a bachelor's degree. Teacher enabled tests are only given to view students’ progress and are not graded or compared. Finnish educational authorities reformed their schools so students would use their knowledge later in life. Schools in Finland make sure kids have a wide variety of classes that aren’t exactly academic, as well as additional time during lunch for athletics and clubs. “Academics isn’t all kids need. Kids need so much more. School should be where we teach the meaning of life; where kids learn they are needed; where they can learn community

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Based on the Finnish system of education, Partanen observes that the United States would be well served to consider some, if not all, of the inconsistencies between American and Finnish education systems (979-981). Addressing an argument she believes will arise against her position, she discusses the size of Finland compared to America. Besides size, America has much greater ethnic diversity than does Finland. Partanen refutes these problems by bringing up that most education is run at the state-level, an area about the size and population of Finland (981). Ultimately, Partanen believes that Americans need to take an honest look at the inequality of education and consider the negative impact it is making on our education system…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Contrary to popular belief, the number one educated country, Finland has a summer break also. Finland’s schools are taught differently but still have the break, Finland’s students don't start school until age 7, it is rare for a Finn to get homework until they are well into their teens, Finland's students have only one mandatory standardized test taken when the student is 16, and all children are taught in the same classroom. With all of these things Finland has the highest percent of students attending college at an astounding 66 percent. Someone may say that we are falling behind in the school department however they are dead wrong.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She states that standardized testing resulted from the No child left behind bill enacted by congress that aimed at ensuring that all children in America would attain free elementary education. Although the author was at the forefront of advocating for this system, she is now opposed to it. The testing system according to the author has been used as a means to close down schools and judge both performance of students and teachers without taking into account other factors. Ravitch states that this system requires that schools be given yearly-standardized exams to monitor the progress of the students. These tests are meant to show if students meet the adequate yearly progress goals.…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The President of American Federation of Teachers AFT Randi Weingarten visited schools in Finland to find out how they have ascended to the top in student achievement. Her conclusions were that teachers have “Real relationship and real respect between the administrators and teachers, the facilities were excellent, and children were exposed to experiential learning. When she questioned how they know that students in Finland are learning in schools Dr. Pasi Sahlberg (Director General, National Center for International Mobility and Cooperation, Finland) replied – ask the teachers, they know! The government ensures that the teachers have what they need to accomplish their…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The only time and exception are that students do take one exam at the end of their senior year in high school. Not like in America, students’ and schools’ test scores aren't being ranked or compared to one another (Hancock). The president of Finland’s well-known teachers' union stated, “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education. All political parties on the right and left agree on this.” With roughly around 62,000 instructors in about 3,500 schools in the country, all of their educators graduated in the top 10 percent of Finland’s graduates.…

    • 1494 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many in U.Ss society would feel and believe that this country is probably full of delinquents and to further this feeling the schools in Finland give 40 min of recess which is removed from a student 's vocabulary once entering middle school. To address these feelings are in short the children 's overall test scores. They are ranked around 2nd place in overall education whereas United States is ranked 25 who have…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She argues that the U.S has the potential for the same educational success as Finland, but “when it comes to the lessons that Finnish schools have to offer, most discussion seems to be missing the point” (Partanen,2011). She highlights that our focus…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Finland secondary education system is rated 6th in the world, but in the USA, their secondary education system is rated 6th too. In Finland, you have 16 secondary schools to choose from, but in the USA you have 9 secondary schools to choose from. In Finland the secondary school teacher has to have a masters degree in teaching in order to teach secondary education. In the USA, you have to have your bachelors or masters degree to become a secondary education teacher. In Finland, secondary classes start when you're in 9th grade or high school, but in the USA you start when you get to elementary school.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In countries like Singapore and Finland, their school systems have a set of ambitious standards that all schools use. The set of standards cover a small number of topics in greater depth, which allows student to truly learn the content before moving on to the next standard. However, the Stewart (2012) describes the U.S education system as having too many unfocused learning standards. The quality of teachers and leaders are different in the school systems of the education powerhouses.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Einstein stated, “the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.” In 1928, a clique of physicists in Denmark formed a group known as the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The group stated that elementary particles possess a fundamentally indeterminate nature. In disagreement, Einstein responded to the claim with, “God does not play dice.” Niels Bohr, a physicists among to group retorted, “Albert, stop telling God what to do.”…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    PISA Argumentative Essay

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is an apparent issue that other countries, other than the United States, tend to score immensely higher when it comes to standardized testing. Based on the tactics teachers use in the classroom and out, shapes whether the student is willing to learn or not. Finland is noted to be one of the countries that supports their students efforts to learn in a unique way. Should The United States be doing the same? Yes, due to the extreme success of Finlands PISA scores, it is accurate to conclude that The United States should be more open to change in its education system.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Likewise, the stress that stems from standardized tests can be all for nothing for some students. Gilmore states “The stakes are high when standardized tests determine whether examinees will be admitted to educational programs… or to professions for which they have prepared” (288). Therefore, students are overwhelmed by the weight standardized tests pose over their future. When I took the ACT I felt a lot of pressure for me to excel so that I could get a scholarship for college. After spending hours upon hours of studying, I did not achieve the score I wished to make because of the overall stress of the standardized tests.…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever wondered why Finland's schools are ranked in the top five in the entire world and are so advanced, in everything? Well it's simple, their school system. They flourish in every way, the students, the teachers and even the structure allow this country to be known for their school system. The Finnish go by this saying “Less is more” where as us Canadians go by the saying “Work till you drop.” Their school systems are built to fit the child's needs where as ours is built for the child to fit the school system's needs.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you like the American education system? Is America superior to other countries when it comes to the level of education we have as opposed to theirs? The answer is no. Statistically speaking, there are other countries that are far more intelligent than the American society. For example, South Korea, a country that has harsher testing techniques to make kids challenge and apply themselves more.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anthony father passed away from doing drugs when he was in the second grade and Anthony was held behind that year. He stays with his grandmother Gloria because she took him. He never knew his mom and his grandmother was raised by her grandparents. His grandmother wants to send him to a boarding school. There are 24 spaces and 61 applicants, sadly he did not get in but was put on the waitlist.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays