Education in the U.S.A.
Introduction
The academic market in the USA was relatively inactive during the first half of the last century. It has been shown that enrolments were low when compared to what was expected in the recent decades. The state appropriations to public universities are also passive. At the same time, the private foundations and corporations must have to expand the culture of supporting the institutions of higher learning. The rising cost of higher education has been one of the causes why enrolment turn out is low.
Thesis Statement: The biggest problem in the educational system in the U.S. is poverty and lack of government appropriations to fund educational programs.
Majority of the public universities in America derive their operating funds from state appropriations and tuition charges. However, due to the recent economic recession in the country, several states have reduced appropriations given to public universities (Murchison & Pejovich 69). As a result, the tuition fees significantly increased. This can be illustrated by the fact that the state appropriations that had been received by Texas A&M University fell from 34 percent of the total revenue for the year 2002, to as low was 31 percent in 2011. Reports show that during the same period, there was a sharp increase tuitions and fees as a share of the university’s revenue increased from 23% to 34% (Murchison & Pejovich 69).
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that the tuition and other student costs in four-year public universities have accelerated from 1980–2009 to as much as $2.26 in constant 2007 dollars and $5.59 in current dollars (Murchison & Pejovich 69). On the other hand, the nation-wide tuition fees have seen sharp increases between one and two times of the current inflation rate (Murchison & Pejovich 69).
However, in the recent study of Gallup Poll Briefing, it was shown that Americans are satisfied with the present education system in the country. Riffkin stated that when the students returned to school in the U.S., survey showed that at least forty eight percent of Americans are completely or “somewhat satisfied” with the quality of education from kindergarten until high school education in America (8). The 48% rating has become the highest rate that Gallup has gathered since the year 2004 (Riffkin 8). It is an indication that Americans have now expressed their satisfaction in the quality of the education for the first time since 2007. The participants in Gallup’s survey were American adults who showed their satisfaction with education since 1999 that began every month of August since 2001 (Riffkin 8). The survey was part of its annual Work and Education poll being conducted by Gallup. In fact, the 53% satisfaction rate was one of the highest that was gathered in 2004. It was in 2004 when majority of Americans showed satisfaction with education, as opposed to those who were dissatisfied.
The Americans felt satisfied about the state of education in the year 2000. In fact, it was that time when education became the main issue during the presidential campaign. The year 2000 survey showed that more than six in every ten Americans were satisfied with the quality of education in the country.
However, the recent surveys marked a major leap from the previous dissatisfaction ratings in the past. In fact, the high satisfaction rates have shown stability during the recent years, as it ranges from 43 percent to percent for the years 2005 until 2013. It is surprising that the satisfaction rating accelerated this year, which resembles to what was seen in the early 2000s. The high satisfaction rates were backed up by the large number of Americans whose children are enrolled in grades K-12 who were generally more satisfied. Most of the parents of these children composed on 57 percent of the population were satisfied with quality of the education in the country. The parents used the child’s education as the basis of their evaluations and not just on what has been reported in the news.
Conclusion
The main cause of the problem in the educational system in the U.S. is poverty. There are several American students remain uneducated because they cannot afford to enroll in schools. However, the legislators, academics and community activists contend that rising number of students should be supported by a bigger financial aid (Murchison & Pejovich 71). By giving an increased budge allocation for education will the increase in enrolment and be beneficial also for the students who come from low-income backgrounds. However, the financial aid given to students must not only be given to students for their lack of budget to enroll in a university. The problem on the educational system in the U.S. as recommended by majority of legislators is for the admission departments at public universities to be able to lay down the rules on the admission standards to be applied to the students. These set of standard should be transparent, may be the subject of public review, and does not show bias to any political preferences, in order to make the financial aid accessible to the poor students who were able to meet such standards.
Works Cited:
Murchison, William, and Svetozar Pejovich. “Problems Of Public Higher Education In The U.S.A: Causes And Consequences.”Economic Affairs 32.1 (2012): 68-71. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Riffkin, Rebecca. “Americans' Satisfaction With Education System Increases.” Gallup Poll Briefing (2014): 8. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
