Why the U.S. is Falling Behind.

     I believe that the U.S. is falling behind in education because we are not as driven as students in other countries. Students in other countries spend their free time studying while we spend our free time doing other things that are not important. I also believe that we are relying more on computers to do our thinking instead of working hard by ourselves.


FOX News Video of U.S. Falling Behind in Education

     I found this video clip very interesting because it showed the Unites States' score in the 2010 PISA test. The PISA test is a test that is given internationally in about sixty countries and the United States placed in the middle with about a B to a C average. This test showed that our education performance ranking is 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math. Also in this video, they were talking about how technology would make a difference to help us from falling behind because the United States has an advantage in education technolgy and with this technology we can find ways to learn more productively and costly.

New York Times Link

     In this article it explained how we are not keeping up with the countries that are going to be our major competitors in the future. We watch too much television and our teachers routinely stress breadth rather than depth. Furthermore, students in other countries have longer school years, watch as much television as us, and are assigned less homework. Teachers in these countries are paid more and have more talent in their teachings than U.S. teachers. Also, these countries have strict standards for student achievement that are reinforced by parents and communities.