A Wake Up Call for Middle Class America, We are way behind other countries

"All too often I hear people saying that America's education problems are just in the inner-city.  While we have vast problem there, I think people are ignorant to the fact that we are falling behind quickly in other places.  The good news is that we have schools the got the right touch"

The American middle-class is struggling as its numbers dwindle and families struggle to make ends meet.

For many, a quality education is one of the perks that come with a middle class lifestyle, leading to future economic success and stability. However, times have changed and according to a new study, a large percentage of America’s middle class students are not keeping up with their international peers.

If our nation wants to remain competitive in the 21^stcentury, middle class schools must also be improved.   

Policy discussions on how to close the achievement gap and ensure that low-income students are receiving access to a high quality education often dominate the education reform dialogue, especially when it comes to improving America’s global competitiveness. 

However, after reviewing the 2009 math and science results on the internationally benchmarked Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, America Achieves found that while leading countries like Singapore, Finland, Korea, and Germany have:

• Raised academic standards,
   
• Elevated the teaching profession, and
   
• Lifted their overall performance,

 America’s middle class students have not kept up.

This study shows that when students in each country are divided into four groups based on socioeconomic status:

• U.S. students in the second highest socioeconomic group are being significantly outperformed by their peers in 24 countries in math and 15 countries in science; and
   
• U.S. students in the third highest socioeconomic group are being significantly outperformed by their peers in 31 countries or regions in math and 25 in science.

But that’s not all. 

“America’s middle class students are falling behind not only students of comparable advantage but also more disadvantaged students in several other countries.”

The good news is that the same study also highlights specific schools that are serving middle class students well. In fact, 4 schools serving middle class students are literally outperforming schools in every country in the world in subjects ranging from reading, math, and science.

These schools serve as models, proving that some middle class American students can, and do compete internationally. Yet ‘some’ is not good enough. Every student in our nation, regardless of household income, deserves access to a high-quality education that prepares him or her for future success.

http://www.studentsfirst.org/blog/entry/a-wake-up-call-for-middle-class-america