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Caroline Moran
Mrs. Aston
ENGL1301.63EC.15FA
11 December 2016

What is the Real Problem with Education in High School?

Dropping out of high school is a problem in Texas, in which 6.6% of students drop out
every year. This may not seem like a large number, but with over two million students in the state
of Texas, this means that there are around 3,000 students that drop out every year. With the
inflation in education at the moment, it is important to keep these teenagers in school by
assessing what is wrong with the environment in the first place. There are many different
symptoms that affect the bigger picture of why young adults are dropping out. In order to
eliminate the high dropout rates, educators and district board members need to focus on finding
out why students are unsuccessful by looking into topics ranging from the educational system
setting up their students for failure, to outside related problems.
There has been much speculation in the past few years on how the quality of education is
plummeting due to changes in the Texas Education System by the State Legislature. One such
case comes to mind, and that is House Bill 5. Passed by the 83rd Regulated Legislature and
Governor of Texas, this bill succeeded in dumbing down the required classes needed to
graduate high school in the state of Texas. In general, this decision has received mixed reviews,
some saying that it allows students to slack more and will introduce a more uneducated
generation into the workforce later on. Another popular opinion is that having higher-level
classes available challenges the students to work harder and feel more accomplished when
completing their degree. On the other hand, some believe that this was a good idea because it
allows more students to graduate with less of a chance of dropping out altogether. Although

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House Bill 5 has its flaws with general education, it also introduces an alternative. This
alternative is practically an admission that their decision to lessen the requirements, probably
wasnt the best idea. Why? It orders for there to be more Early College High Schools (ECHS)
and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools constructed in the state
of Texas, allowing more students to have the opportunity to study at more challenging schools.
Overall, this may not seem like a problem that would affect much. However, there is a lot
to lose if the degradation of standard education keeps up at this alarming rate. Not only does it
discourage students from going for a higher education, it will make sure that humans cannot
proceed in discoveries.
School systems have been heavily debated for the past few decades, and now is no
exception. To delve further into this issue, it is best to look at the varying opinions and
explanations of different experts on the topic.
Although the problems and solutions vary between each person, it is simple to see
how they all connect. Starting with the system as a whole, some experts believe that Americas
inability to change or adapt over time has made its rank drop like a dead weight to the bottom of
the first worlds charts. A good explanation of this is in American Schools are Failing! by
Lawrence J. Fedewa. Fedewa explains the situation as follows:
They point to the substantial differences between even neighboring schools let
alone the cultural, linguistic and geographical differences between schools in 65
countries. It is also true that American schools have stayed more or less the same
while foreign schools have adopted and adapted American approaches and have
caught up and surpassed the Americans.
To put it in laymans terms, other countries have succeeded in leaving America in the dust with
their rapid advancement of education. This systemized problem also involves how students are
taught. Fedewa lists that students need to be engaged in learning by having a Time to Teach

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method, which involves students participating on a higher level in order to achieve more control
and stability in the classroom.
A Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) article published on September 4, 2014,
titled, What the Best Education Systems Are Doing Right by Amy S. Choi, illustrates the
major differences between the top two education systems in the world. Choi starts with
explaining that both systems had a rough starting point, but over time, they blossomed into the
separate systems they are today. The author wished to highlight that both systems focal points
are on educating the general public in order to have a well-rounded and successful country.
The article Learning Disabilities and Disorders by Gina Kemp, Melina Smith, and
Jeanne Segal was published in September of 2015 and proves that even though there are many
obstacles preventing students from learning, these roadblocks can be overcome. The authors
all contribute and speak of how there are certain disabilities that affect young students and
address the certain symptoms that appear; the piece then moves on to give hope for parents and
teachers by stating that students can grow out of it or be treated for it. The authors of this
article chose to compile their research in order to educate parents to see if their children could
possibly have a disability and properly diagnose it.
Another research article titled, Understanding Why Students Drop Out of High School,
According to Their Own Reports by Jonathan Doll, Zohreh Eslami, and Lynne Walters,
published on November 7, 2013, presents the multitude of excuses that high schoolers have
stated when they drop out. This publication is split off into different sectors that each address
different research done on school dropouts over the past 100 years. The purpose of this
compilation of data was to provide the main given reasons as to why people cease to continue
their education in order for people to see the generational excuses of why many dropped out.
These excuses include such things as students getting pregnant, having family issues, and much

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more. Essentially, Doll, Eslami, and Walters add onto the argument that the students can be the
problem, this time stating it can be related with outside factors, not developmental issues.
However, students arent the only problem. The teachers are also involved in this web of
education.
In Ask the Experts: 7 Ways to Improve Public Education, the author, Erin Skarda,
makes an interesting point. Skarda states, Public education is more expensive and less effective
than in other countries. This point stands out due to its assertion of two of the biggest problems
in the American education system right now. Skarda then questions how the system should be
overhauled to allow for better implementations. Her answer? To train teachers to be better. If
teachers are themselves taught fool-proof and standardized methods, then they can sustain a
better system.
The solution that is needed to be focused on for this most heinous problem is one that
will attempt to help all students. First, to get students back on track, there still needs to be more
requirements to graduate. For this to be successful, the education system needs to start
implementing a plan that helps students grow with their learning experiences. High school
students need to be reintroduced to the original philosophy that they can learn something, not
that they need to focus on some grade on a paper.
One such solution could be to base how the school system works after the two most
successful school systems in the world: South Korea and Finland. Both of these are structured
differently, with South Koreas program focusing on prosperity and hard work, while Finlands
focuses more on working to the natural ability of a student. The core aspects of these educational
systems can be implemented easilyif done rightinto the Texas Education System to better
improve its infrastructure and help young students to unlock their full potential.
The horribly unstable and non-standardized program itself is not the only issue to be

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solved. In order to create a working system, teachers need to be taught techniques that allow
students to grow with their learning. For example, teach teachers to be patient and understanding
with individuals who learn differently. It is important for them to remember that their students
are individuals, not a collective.
Nevertheless, there are certain individuals that disagree that anything is wrong with the
way America runs things. Daniel Greenfield writes in his article, Americas Education System
Isnt Broken that people are overacting. Greenfield speaks of how many believe that America
will fall off the charts completely, but Greenfield believes, America is still the country that
invents things, his meaning being to disprove those who believe otherwise.
His other argument to go along with this is that students of different races have
different results. Greenfields argument could be quite persuasive if the reader is a
conservative racist that relies on people just stating their opinion with no facts whatsoever
instead of putting together a cohesive argument. Overall, his argument for there being no
problem in the education system is extremely unreliable.
Ultimately, if a change in the education system is not seen through, it will greatly affect
the minds of young students in a negative way. These children will not be able to develop
properly and will be stuck in a world where all their desire for learning and creativity will be
drained from them and the advancement of society will come to a halt in America. In order to
eliminate the high dropout rates, educators and district board members need to focus on finding
out why students are unsuccessful by looking into topics ranging from the educational system
setting up their students for failure to outside related problems. To actually change this growing
problem, it is important that members of the community actively speak up about the injustices
that plague the young learners who so desperately need the system changed. If nothing is
changed about this outdated and unconventional system, America will be considered the
underdog while the rest of the world progresses toward prosperity and leaves them behind.

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Works Cited
Choi, Amy. What the Best Education Systems Are Doing Right TED
(2014): 1. 20 September 2015 < http://ideas.ted.com/what-the-best-education-systemsare-doing-right/>
Kemp, Gina, Melinda Smith, and Jeanne Segal. Learning Disabilities and Their Disorders
HelpGuide.org
(2015): 1. 20 September 2015 < http://www.helpguide.org/articles/learningdisabilities/learning-disabilities-and-disorders.htm>
Doll, Jonathan, Zohreh Eslami, and Lynne Walters. Understanding Why Students Drop Out of
High School, According to Their Own Reports Sage Journals
(2013): 1. 20 September 2015 < http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/4/2158244013503834>
Downs, Dave. 2014 Best Schools in Dallas Dave Downs
(2015): 1. 20 September 2015 < http://www.davedowns.com/best-schools-dallas.htm>
Hancock, LynNell. Why Are Finlands Schools Successful? Smithsonian Magazine
(2011): 1. 20 September 2015 < http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-arefinlands-schools-successful-49859555/>
Greenfield, Daniel. Americas Education System Isnt Broken Frontpage Magazine
(2013) 1. 4 October 2015 < http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/212905/americaseducation-system-isnt-broken-daniel-greenfield>
Skarda, Erin. Ask the Experts: 7 Ways to Improve K-12 Public Education NationSwell
(2014) 1. 3 October 2015 < http://nationswell.com/ask-experts-7-ways-improve-k-12public-education/>
Fedewa, Lawrence. FEDEWA: American Schools Are Failing! The Washington Times

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(2014) 1. 3 October 2015 < http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/1/fedewaamerican-schools-are-failing/?page=all>