Aiding Education Essays -- Essays Papers

Aiding Education A look at what the U.S. must do to improve education for the poor. Introduction The public educational system in the United States is in desperate need of rejuvenation. The US’s standards are not up to par with other industrialized nations and because of this children don’t learn the fundamental skills required to become productive members of society. This trend is especially noticeable in areas of high poverty where schools do not have access to adequate resources to provide help for students that need it. Both the federal government and the states themselves have taken measures to right the course of the American educational system, but thus far the gains have been meager at best. In examining the current state of the United States’ educational system with respect to areas of significant poverty, it is important to determine what caused this country’s system to decay to such a dangerous levels, what is currently being done to correct the situation, and what more needs to be done in the future. How the states are helping fix the problem Annual test results like those from a recent MCAS exam (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) confirm what most of us already believe to be true: the communities with the lowest test scores are those with the highest levels of poverty. The strong correlation between poverty and poor academic performance has been evident to those in education for some time. The fact that it lingers and is in fact worsening in many areas begs the question: what are states doing to reverse this trend? (Brown) Because of the dire need for change with regards to education, state and federal policy makers alike have become increasingly focused on generating acceptable... ...r states to continue adjusting their funding methods and for the federal government to start living up to its promises. Bibliography Berliner, David. Vouchers: No Solution to Educating the Poor. http://www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/EPRU/point_of_view_essays/cerai-00-37a.htm Feb 22, 2002. Brown, Eileen. â€Å"Educating America’s New Majority.† http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/er/newmaj1.html Cardiff, Chris. â€Å"Education: What About the Poor?† http://www.fee.org/vnews.php?nid=221 Carey, Kevin. â€Å"State Poverty-Based Education Funding: A Survey of Current Programs and Options for Improvement.† November 7, 2000. Ourfuture.org. â€Å"Bush’s Budget Fails Education.† http://www.ourfuture.org/issues_and_campaigns/education/20040202_edu_budget.cfm. Rebora. Anthony. â€Å"No Child Left Behind.† http://www.edweek.org/context/topics/issuespage.cfm?id=59 May 26, 2004.