Name: Alliah Turner
America Falling Behind Academically
2739.... This number represents the number of students that drop out of school in America
everyday. That is approximately 1.4 million students every year. Students in the U.S. are falling
behind other countries in critical education areas including reading, science, and math. Educational
standards in America today have dropped significantly from former heights. We were the first ones on
the moon, the computer was developed here, we even developed the deadliest weapons on the planet.
While the U.S does, in fact, have some of the most coveted Ivy League schools, it also falls behind the
international community when it comes to secondary math and science; two areas extremely important
to the future development of technological and medical fields.
To become globally competitive, we must be globally competent. The challenges that face the
world today require globally-minded solutions. China graduated 1.4 million students in science,
technology, engineering and math compared with 496,000 in the United States the report is not the
best. The United States, out of 34 countries, ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.
If we truly aspire to have a world-class education system in America, we must engage with the world.
With that said, if we lower the student drop out rate for this generation, then in 40 years time the
achievements for Americans with increase greatly.
Dropouts themselves report a variety of reasons for leaving school, but these reasons do not
reveal the underlying causes. Multiple factors in elementary or middle school may influence students’
attitudes, behaviors, and performance in high school prior to dropping out. Misbehavior in high school
and delinquent behavior outside of high school are both significantly associated with higher dropout
and lower graduation rates. In...