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Saved by 22 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-04-22


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on 2009-04-30 by gregorylouie

I have to agree with the comment that our nation is in decline. IMHO, the decline of our schools has more to do with classroom disruptions by students who are undisciplined, rude and unruly. These disruptors become chronic. As a result, classroom time spent on instruction is severely impaired. The culture of indulgence results in politicians across the political spectrum indulging in immoral and corrupt behavior, excusing themselves and serving their self rather than the public's interest. The same may be said of Wall Street and other business executives. We have too many examples of moral decay by our so-called leadership. It is no wonder that our nation is in decline. A dysfunctional school system is a symptom not the cause or our nation's decline. It is a culture of personal indulgence, self-centeredness and lack of a sense of public service that is corrupting our nation.

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study by the consulting firm McKinsey, entitled “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools.”

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The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools.

Highlighted by seiseleevdem

For instance, in the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment that measured the applied learning and problem-solving skills of 15-year-olds in 30 industrialized countries, the U.S. ranked 25th out of the 30 in math and 24th in science. That put our average youth on par with those from Portugal and the Slovak Republic, “rather than with students in countries that are more relevant competitors for service-sector and high-value jobs, like Canada, the Netherlands, Korea, and Australia,” McKinsey noted.

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the longer American children are in school, the worse they perform compared to their international peers

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There are millions of kids who are in modern suburban schools “who don’t realize how far behind they are,” said Matt Miller, one of the authors. “They are being prepared for $12-an-hour jobs — not $40 to $50 an hour.”

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There are millions of kids who are in modern suburban schools “who don’t realize how far behind they are,” said Matt Miller, one of the authors. “They are being prepared for $12-an-hour jobs — not $40 to $50 an hour.”

Highlighted by seiseleevdem

The answer, says McKinsey: If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and had raised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, United States G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher. If we had closed the racial achievement gap and black and Latino student performance had caught up with that of white students by 1998, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher. If the gap between low-income students and the rest had been narrowed, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher.

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on 2009-04-22 by seanmcclung

I'm no economist--can anyone help me to understand how improving academic achievement would make such a big impact on GDP? I know that an individual's earning potential increases with each diploma and degree, but academic achievement often has little to do with graduation rates or degree attainment.

on 2009-04-24 by drthomasho

Since GDP = consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports), I can see how improvements in educational achievement can contribute to higher incomes and other increases in economic activity. However, since GDP includes government spending, I am concerned that we spend so much on public education (and get such poor results) that some of the increase in GDP could be attributed to increases in government spending on education. I do recognize that the increases cited in GDP would not come solely from increased government spending on education so I am assuming that most of it would come from increases in economic activity as a result of improvements in educational achievement. Is that a valid assumption?

on 2009-05-14 by brandonwbrown

that's the thing though. is educational achievement necessarily linear to wages earned? i know in some cases it is directly proportional but i also think there are many cases where it falls off. for technology and engineering it seems linear. but does a masters in literature confer much more power to earn wages than does a bachelors? does the PhD? and what's all this about competition? i think we're projecting a metaphor of a race or a game wherein we assume that our schools are competing with high school kids in India. We are not, and it is distracting what our true focus of what education should be: to allow children to find and "follow their bliss" as Joseph Campbell would say. If that happens the money in whatever form follows. Bottom-up thinking for sure, but I think teachers should be more concerned with this than competition with foreign lands.