Other Nations Outclass U.S. on Education

The following report is part of CBS News' new series on education: Reading, Writing and Reform.

In every town in America, the back-to-school rush is on, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

In Croton, N.Y., the Arturo brothers are already cracking the books.

"I feel we get our money's worth in Croton," said the boys' mother. "Especially for three kids."

The public schools have done right by the Arturos, but that's not the case across the board, says education consultant Mark Schneider.

"Our top students are just not world class anymore," Schneider told CBS News.

(Scroll down to watch the video)

And he's right. Of 30 comparable countries, the United States ranks near the bottom. Take math - Finland is first, followed by South Korea, and the United States is number 25. Same story in science: Finland, number one again. The United States? Number 21.

Problem Solving

Where does the United States outrank Finland? On the amount spent per student: just over $129,000 from K through 12. The other countries average $95,000.

"We have world class expenditures, but not world class results," said Schneider.

When it comes to high school graduation rates, the United States is 20th on the list. Germany, Japan, Korea and the U.K. all do better with graduation rates of 90 percent or more. In the Unites States, it's just 75 percent.

It's not so much that the United States has slowed down in the last half a century, it's more that other countries sped up.

"We need more octane now," said Amy Wilkins of the Education Trust. "The rest of the world is running faster than we are because they looked at what we did and they took what was good about us and added to it."

Education experts like Wilkins say top performing countries recruit teachers from the top of their college classes. South Korea - No. 2 in math - gets teachers from the top five percent of graduating college seniors. Finland - No. 1 in math and science - the top 10 percent.

"The consensus is not surprising, the most important ingredient in what works is the quality of a student's teacher," said Schneider.

The U.S. has one of the shorter school years: 180 days versus 220 for South Korea. Research shows teachers spend up to six weeks re-teaching what kids forgot over the summer. So a shorter break may be better.

"We still have an education system that is very much geared for the industrial age, if not the agrarian age," said Wilkins. "We've gotten stuck in the old norms. The world has changed and our schools have not kept up.

Now, the numbers suggest, might be time for a new lesson plan.

[peeznluv]

Look at the big picute analysis....Go to notmypriorities.org and take a good hard look at the budgetary American pie chart....It is enough to make one puke. We spend a ridiculous amount of money on "defense".....missiles sitting idle for nothing, unexxessary wars, the need for greed and "power"....while cutting back across our schools, not paying our teachers as much as other countries pay theirs. It has NOTHING to do with the students themselves, and we can point fingers at the teachers. If we paid them what they are worth, having among the most important job to propel our next generation further, what magic that would be. Our kids are amazing.....doing things we did in 4th grade now in 2nd. If anything, they are pushed too hard, no need for that. The NCLB program sucks the big one. Teachers forced to test test test......putting kids under undue pressure to perform, no learn, homework galore rather than play. Our country needs to get its priorities straight, get a grip. We have political corruption viewing a countries "power" by how strong its armed forces are (no streneth in that), keeps the military extremnist industrial complex in order due to it being an overbloated $800billion empire creating "jobs" in the wrong direction. It should be the DoD having fundraisers, scraping for pennies to make more weapons, not the schools to educate our young.

[cktirumalai]

The United States spends more on education and medicine, and yet lags behind several other countries in what is achieved in those important areas. American life expectancy is not as high as it is elsewhere. Some hard and original thinking (and not the repetition of formulaic ideas) is needed if things are to improve.
I taught at a liberal arts American college for many years and found that the proportion of students genuinely dedicated to their education, in which their cooperation is essential, disappointingly small. They found far too many other things to distract them during their four years.
Candadai Tirumalai

[lacm4]

The problem in the U.S. is nobody wants to put the money needed toward education. You are so worried about your taxes going up 1 or 2 percent (golly, you might not be able to buy that Coach purse this year) you inadvertently lobby against education. Our priorities are messed up in this country. Everyone should have access to a good education and good health care. All schools ever do is cut back. There is no art, music or language enrichment. It is bare bones. School days are cut way back. There are enough administrators in one county to run the entire nation's education system... too many chiefs. Hire more indians and get the job done by teaching our kids not only reading, writing and math, but language (from and early age!), art, and music.

[G-girl413]

Where do I start in discussing the failure of the American Education System which btw started declining quite some time ago(at least thirty years ago). Some attribute this to a liberal agenda where they deliberately wanted to dumb down the future American public so they would fall right in line when they (the Libs) start promoting socialism. Funny, how socialism is being shoved down our throats right now by the current administration in the White House. I go further than this theory and question why are parents not taking a stand and demanding a better education system in our schools? One that would enable students to compete with children around the world. Right now, our education system is broken and is a joke in the world's eyes. We have bad teachers who are just interested in collecting a paycheck and really are not interested in educating your kids. We have good teachers who can only do so much because of the toxic politics within the education system. Also, they have to not anger immature parents who don't want their kids to be challenged, disciplined, and graded according to a higher standard. You have students who behave like spoiled brats and want everything handed to them. BTW, I can spot a person who attened PS a mile awhile as they always want to be catered to (they always want the rules bent to suit them.) Naturally, our school system is failing with all this toxic cancer rotting it from the inside out.

I am all for radical change and completely re-vamping our country's education system so that our children (our most valuable resource) could have a fair chance to compete in this global world. These students will then go on to have the chance to compete in a global market(something which our current education system does not even acknowledge.) If we don't embrace radical change soon--our children and all future generations have very little chance at competing with other countries. Like it or not, this is the world we are not living in. We can't afford to allow things to go on the way they are--it is just creating a welfare state(millions of people who will not be able to find gainful employment.) If you think that the unemployment figures are high right now; you don't want to know what those figures may look like in ten, fifteen, twenty years, etc. Our children's future will look extremely bleak. I also put the blame on multi-national corporations who have moved much of their operations overseas for cheap labor (outsourcing) and/or are hiring H1B visa holders in place of qualified Americans--using the lame excuse that these workers are so exceptionally talent and they (the corporation) couldn't find such talent and skills in the USA. Let's not let them be able to get way with this hogwash. Let's show them that Americans will roll up their sleeves and work hard to get back to where they were--the best country in world. Now is the time for change. We need to move forward.

[lacm4]

I could not even finish what you wrote. Politicizing education is stupidity at its greatest. While your agenda is to blame those at odds with your political viewpoint, you fail to see that the top school systems in the world are in countries so liberal, you would melt just by breathing their air. While fundamentally I agree with you, your reasons lack any thought or real concern for education, rather a stage for your political beliefs. Did you cite one specific example of how to change the system?

[010sonny]

SHAAA-----ZAMMMM
Kansas City schools are in the process of exploring alternative methods to education. Not so much a new and revolutionary system. This particular system has been employed from the earliest days of education. You can see it from the days of Aristotle right up to the present, incorporated to varying degrees, in the agrarian systems that reign dominate to authoritative recognition. It is increasing in its rejuvenating the inquisitive natural nature of each individuals ambitions or desires. In so doing, exposing a favorable progression to the entire student body. What is this ?
In place of a gradient system that demands that all students within that sector of development proceed to the limitations of that sector to wit they inhabit. This system allows individuals to progress or regress to various sectors in accordance to their abilities to comprehend that sector to wit they inhabit. Once student has mastered that sector moves on to next sector that emulates students interest. Note Aristotelian base philosophy.
I was most fortunate to have experienced such a scenario through one of my educators. Alas only one. Yet from this, experienced enough to realize that what I want to acquire could be regimentally impressed or of my freedom to pursue to my hearts content. This remained with me through the various tribulations of life?s agendas. Winter approaches me now and I find my warmth in that memory that I have the freedom to progress or regress as I should so desire. Now I spend my time climbing to various summits that came before me and dare to place my arm around the future.
Montessori strategies comes to mind. Similar to the proverb; ?Teach one how to fish and they will feed themselves.? Most down-trodden to the most structured intellectual, freedom of one?s self to recognize their talents and how they can incorporate this to sustain themselves in satisfaction. Competition within one?s-self will always be the greatest competition.
From the archives of history to the shores of string theory and their 11th dimensions of gravity, opportunities abound on the omega?s bountiful oceans.

[dwiseriver]

This would actually work, thank you for being brave enough to write this. This allows for true equality. Wow...Shazam!

[sandmoyet]

Where are the statistics they used to compare our education system? Newsweek ranked the U.S. #11 on August 16,2010. Once again the news does not give the whole story, especially about the differences in the educational systems of different countries. Alot of them do not have the equality of education that the U.S. has for its students.

[david393071]

sandmoyet - "Where are the statistics they used to compare our education system?"

Because that is what the statistics were designed to do. If you do not like the results you change the causes not the statistics (numbers).

sandmoyet - "Once again the news does not give the whole story, especially about the differences in the educational systems of different countries."

Yes, the other Countries education systems are more competitive, with higher standards. You do not pass the Entrance Exams, then you do not get a Public Education for High School. Quality versus US Quantity (no QA/QC). US Education system is not Incentive Based Teaching, so US Pays most for worst Education, and cannot vest itself of lousy Teachers (due to Teachers Unions).

sandmoyet - "Alot of them do not have the equality of education that the U.S. has for its students."

Yes, we give everyone a US Taxpayer Paid Public Education, including Illegal Aliens that are milking the US Systems (loop holes in US Laws, US Constitution, US Constitutional Amendments, etc.).

[jgg000101]

the most important sentence in the article:

"we have world class expenditures, but not world class results."

[boysread]

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[housetbh]

Good discussion, but why is there no mention of the very restrictive immigration to Finland and S Korea... no masses of poor uneducated masses heading there! We accept so many that it brings our numbers down.

[mboston10]

I have a comment-Everytime the economy tanks the Education system is suddenly under the gun-Republicans would love to destroy public education - They supposedly don't believe in public anything- but just try to take away their disablity check and see how they feel.The public school system in the USA is a reflection of the society- We have major problems in this country- Illegal immigration, un-employment, absence of unions for service workers, hungry, tired and ignored children. If the schools are so poor in quality theen why-oh-why do so many students from other countries choose the USA for a college education. Most professors are white Americans. This is a political strategy to scapegoat and it is appaling that even the Democrats use it when in the White House.