<p>Presumably everyone here on this board is talking about someone else’s child when they describe America’s children as indifferently educated and mediocre in other ways as well?</p>
<p>America is a massive country with a decentralized educational system. There is good (which I would suggest is as good as anywhere), indifferent (which is perhaps indifferent because of educational factors and perhaps because of broader sociological issues) and poor (which most often is associated with sociological issues). </p>
<p>NO ONE in Singapore sues the Ministry of Education to get a different educational program for their child. EVERY ONE in Singapore assumes they are responsible for the choices they make and their outcomes. EVERY ONE in Singapore feels that the meritocracy of education is their best path to success. RARELY does anyone think that they will get anything without working hard. </p>
<p>I would suggest that before presuming this to be a matter of curriculum, insufficient, testing, teacher training, etc… IT is important to think about the social-cultural factors and the various additional factors in American life which are significant- so often.</p>
<p>The fact they point out White Plains and Evanston is sort of funny. ETHS is a pretty good school, as is White Plains HS (there are actually a couple) but neither would ever be characterized as elite and both are from fairly large mixed income cities. (I have lived in or near both and done a lot of work with the former).</p>
<p>Literacy and history, I’m not so sure. My samples (myself included) from a lifetime of interacting with foreign college graduates have taught me that literature in many ‘hi-pot’ countries is largely an afterthought, and that ‘writing’ the way we do it here is largely a waste of time in said countries. History is often distorted due to national self-interest or other 1984-ish reasons, and so on.</p>
<p>Or that we are educating mostly to the bottom of the bell curve, and offering honors/AP courses to a few top students? That leave the middle to fall behind their ability.</p>
<p>I am not sure the wheels fall off to the extent it appears.
I cannot speak for the other countries on the list, but by the time a kid is old enough to be in 11th or 12th grades in Singapore, anyone deemed in 6th grade to not have enough academic promise is no longer in conventional secondary education. They are in ‘polys’ where they are learning pre-vocational skills. So, the group of students still in the ‘academic track’ are attending what are called ‘junior colleges’ and doing their A levels or in some cases IB. </p>
<p>I suspect this is true in many places. In Australia for example, many students leave HS after 10th grade. They take the HSLC (High school leaving certificate) exam and then if they want more education they go to TAFE which is trade and vocational education.</p>
<p>My point is, the students graduating HS in the US are likely a much broader subset of all students then they are in these 2 countries., at least…</p>