...It's time to stop just talking about education reform and start actually doing it. It's time to make education America's national mission. – President Barack Obama, November 4, 2009 BACKGROUND On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), historic legislation designed to stimulate the economy, support job creation, and invest in critical sectors, including education. The ARRA lays the foundation for education reform by supporting investments in innovative strategies that are most likely to lead to improved results for students, long-term gains in school and school system capacity, and increased productivity and effectiveness. The ARRA provides $4.35 billion for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring student preparation for success in college and careers; and implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas: • Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy; • Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; ...
Words: 520 - Pages: 3
...The Failure of Education Policy in the United States The United States has always struggled to find a way to provide an education system that provides a solid educational foundation for America’s youth. The government’s use of education policies to help better America’s education system many say has failed along with politicians attempts to solve this problem. In this paper we will be searching for an answer to a question that plagues many concerned parents and many politicians as well: Has the education policy failed in the United States? In order to answer this question we must look back on the historical background of the issue, we must review the past and present policies in place and we must identify the proposed solutions. It is our intention, with this research, to understand why or why not our education policies have failed America’s youth. There is a major problem in America and it is not one that is hard to spot if you are a concerned parent looking at your child’s test scores, a student enrolled in America’s public schools, a politician seeking to pass a new policy or even a concerned citizen, because when it comes to building a strong, intellectual country Americans’ know we need an education system that adequately prepares our youth. With so many statistics showing the decline of test scores it is not hard to identify the educational problem in America. However, there are many different beliefs as to why the education policy is failing in the United States; however...
Words: 2633 - Pages: 11
...Name Course Institution Instructor Date Fallacies of America’s Education system Education is one of the most pursued learning activity in the world. This is due to the fact that, there are so many positive values that have been associated with a well-educated community some of which include, being enlightened, earning good returns through the application of learned skills which in turn can be translated into good life. Thus, every country including the United States has put a lot of emphasis on educating their generation for a better future. Nevertheless, there are peculiar fallacies that are associated with the education system in the United States of America. One of the fallacies that exist in the USA regarding the education system spans from the fact that, American by nature are not only rational but also virtuous people. Thus, given these two features, they value education a lot to an extent that they strongly think that the government should keep off on all matters relating to education. The problem with this way of thinking is that, some children whose parents are very irresponsible suffers a lot because the government is not required to intervene on matters relating to education in the USA. The situation is even made worse when parents decides to prevent the government from intervening on all matters relating to education. This is due to the simple that, families have a lot of problems such as divorce and abuse (Hurd, par. 2,-6). Thus parents undertaking the...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...Name Course Institution Instructor Date Fallacies of America’s Education system Education is one of the most pursued learning activity in the world. This is due to the fact that, there are so many positive values that have been associated with a well-educated community some of which include, being enlightened, earning good returns through the application of learned skills which in turn can be translated into good life. Thus, every country including the United States has put a lot of emphasis on educating their generation for a better future. Nevertheless, there are peculiar fallacies that are associated with the education system in the United States of America. One of the fallacies that exist in the USA regarding the education system spans from the fact that, American by nature are not only rational but also virtuous people. Thus, given these two features, they value education a lot to an extent that they strongly think that the government should keep off on all matters relating to education. The problem with this way of thinking is that, some children whose parents are very irresponsible suffers a lot because the government is not required to intervene on matters relating to education in the USA. The situation is even made worse when parents decides to prevent the government from intervening on all matters relating to education. This is due to the simple that, families have a lot of problems such as divorce and abuse (Hurd, par. 2,-6). Thus parents undertaking the...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...Policy Analysis No Child Left Behind to The Blueprint for Reform/Rise to The Top Program Frances Kaye Williams PAD 510: Into to Public Policy Analysis Strayer University Scholl of Professional Studies Thomas Walkington PAD 510 Intro Public Policy Analysis Strayer University January 27, 2014 Abstract The purpose of this research is to identify the reformation from the No Child Left behind Act that was reform from President Bush to the President Obama Blue Print for Reform Act and the Raising to the Top for Education. The research proves that the reformation of the Blue Print has greatly increased in the education of all children to indulge in a higher education. This reformation has not only help with the children but the welfare of the economy and the communities as well. The report identifies key elements of the policy and makes recommendations for future policy development identifying official and unofficial actors, interest groups, the influence of two of those actors, their influence in further development of the policy Executive Summary A substantial body of evidence has shown that past reforms have largely failed to improve schools, but The Blue Print for Reform along with the Rise to The Top Program (RTTT) has made a significant change in education. The Blueprint for Reform builds on the significant reforms already made in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 around four areas: (1) Improving teacher and principal effectiveness...
Words: 6990 - Pages: 28
...History of Education Education Act of 1944. The Education Act of 1944 involved a thorough recasting of the educational system. The Board of Education was replaced by a minister who was to direct and control the local education authorities, thereby assuring a more even standard of educational opportunity throughout England and Wales. Every local education authority was required to submit for the minister's approval a development plan for primary and secondary education and a plan for further education in its area. Two central advisory councils were constituted, one for England, another for Wales. These had the power, in addition to dealing with problems set by the minister, to tender advice on their own initiative. The total number of education authorities in England and Wales was reduced from 315 to 146. The educational systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate and distinct from that of England and Wales, although there are close links between them. The essential features of the Education Act of 1944 of England and Wales were reproduced in the Education Act of 1945 in Scotland and in the Education Act of 1947 in Northern Ireland. There were such adaptations in each country as were required by local traditions and environment. The complexity of the education system in the United Kingdom arises in part from the pioneer work done in the past by voluntary bodies and a desire to retain the voluntary element in the state system. The act of 1944 continued...
Words: 4110 - Pages: 17
...if feels as if educational reform has been a thorn in the side of educators, policy makers, and school boards for longer than the crusades. Every time it come up a solution is shot down before a majority of the public even knows that it was there. Until recently it was starting to feel like no one even cared enough to stand up for America’s youth and simultaneously the future of the country. 2009 put and abrupt end to that when 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, committing to a state-led process; the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Finally it felt that the public’s decade’s long outcry for change was heard. As with any change there is resistance however and quite unexpectedly the uproar has caused certain states to question their involvement in the initiative. So while the public and its educators are in an uproar over education reform they are not happy with the chosen method of implementing common core state standards here in the United States. America needs this reform in order to remain a forerunner in the international standings a market where we have continued to fall, and while a majority scrambles for insight they should turn to the minority that has gotten it right the state of Michigan in particular who has made all of its recourses available for the remaining states to use for free. State education standards have been about...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...Whitney Adamson MAT 602 Paper The success of every student begins with the effectiveness of teachers and principals. Teachers not only need an extensive knowledge and understanding of teaching strategies to ensure their students are prepared for high school and college but they also need to have a passion for making a difference (“Teachers and Leaders”). Great teachers need patience to take the time needed to influence their students and properly prepare them for their education beyond their classroom. A great teacher can make the difference between a student who continues to higher education and succeeds and a student who may fall through the crack. How is it that a person becomes a great teacher? This begins with not only formal education and training but also the resources and instruction from a great principal once you are in the classroom (“Teachers and Leaders”). Not surprisingly, research shows that top performing teachers can make a dramatic difference in the success and achievement of their students (“Teachers and Leaders”). With this knowledge society needs to do more to ensure that every student has an effective teacher, that every school has effective principals and that every teacher and leader has access to the preparation, support and opportunities they need to succeed. Understanding how important a great teacher is in a classroom is just the beginning of this issue. Next comes how to execute this priority and get the great teachers and leaders we desperately...
Words: 1084 - Pages: 5
...America: A Nation Divided. In George Washington’s Farewell Speech on September 19, 1796, he warned against political parties as follows: The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty (J.E. Quidam, 2008). This ideology seems to have evolved and held truth for the past 227 years as now Americans are even more divided by political parties than any other stature. According to Edward S. Greenberg and Benjamin I. Page’s “The Struggle for Democracy”, political ideology is defined as a system of interrelated and coherently organized political beliefs and attitudes, which include conservatives, liberals, populists, and libertarians (145). Greenburg and Page further describe that the “two dimensions” that Americans generally divide along are government’s roles in economy and society (147). Conservatism can be defined as the disposition to preserve or restore what is established...
Words: 2925 - Pages: 12
...AP Photo/LisA BiLLings Confronting America’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic How the Health Care Reform Law Will Help Prevent and Reduce Obesity Ellen-Marie Whelan, Lesley Russell, and Sonia Sekhar May 2010 w w w.americanprogress.org Confronting America’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic How the Health Care Reform Law Will Help Prevent and Reduce Obesity Ellen-Marie Whelan, Lesley Russell, and Sonia Sekhar May 2010 Contents 1 Fast Facts on Childhood Obesity 3 Introduction and summary 6 Provisions included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that address childhood obesity 6 Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project 7 Nutrition labeling 7 Community Transformation Grants 9 Broader measures in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to tackle childhood obesity 9 Prevention and public health 15 Primary care and coordination 18 Community-based Care 20 Maternal and child health 22 Research: Doing what works in obesity prevention 23 Data provisions that will help with tracking and providing improved outcomes to measure obesity prevention 25 What else is needed? 27 Beyond health care 29 Conclusion 30 Appendix: The White House Childhood Obesity Initiative 32 Endnotes 34 About the authors Fast Facts on Childhood Obesity Our nation’s children today are on track to have a lower life expectancy than their parents The obesity epidemic poses serious health problems for children including cardiovascular disease,...
Words: 14941 - Pages: 60
...History 3348 J.Tillapaugh 16 December 2014 Educational Advances Education is the foundation for everything. Education is needed for the world to continue to move forward. As it stands, education in America has come a long way. There was a point in time where only the rich and white males were allowed to go to school. Now we see people in education striving to make sure that all children have the opportunity to learn and be successful in the real world or at the next level in education, college. The question becomes: how do educators and lawmakers achieve this? Are there many different answers and possibilities? The goal has not been achieved but one can see a tremendous improvement in giving individuals a better education. Thankfully, the contemporary world provides humans with access to, basically, any information and it’s at the touch of our fingers. The resources that can be used in education to teach and discover are endless. The Internet has improved in quality, accessibility, and speed within the last 20 years that is possible to access more information that has ever been accessed before and on one device. Many public schools (K-12) now provide students with some kind of technology that is meant to enhance learning. They are given tablets with reading apps, math games, and access to Internet. In many high schools, students are each given a laptop with access to the Internet and all of its available resources. The obstacle with this new technology is that teachers...
Words: 1548 - Pages: 7
...American Education: Not Worthy of an “A” In the height of the economic recession circa 2008, the CEO of a McDonald’s supplier experienced difficulty finding competent workers for the modern factory jobs. The position entailed basic communication skills, literacy, and the ability to solve a problem. These traits were lacking in the recent high school graduates of Oklahoma public schools. In rapidly evolving and fast-paced financial markets, a quality education has become the foundation for success, and the education being offered by U.S. schools proves to be a faulty base for structure. In Amanda Ripley's The Smartest Kids in the World, Ripley demonstrates the American education system's need for rigor by providing personal narratives...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7
...Indonesia to live with his mother -1971: when he returned to Honolulu to live with his grandparents and attended Punahou school, a private preparatory school. He was one of few black students in school and his classmate regarded him as “the black kid from Indonesia” -1975: while in high school, Obama joined the basketball team and became a leader in class. (I think he started leading people very young) However, during his teenage years, he described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage lead him to use alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. (At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama identified his high-school drug use as a great moral failure) -1979: Obama attended Occidental College and here he made his 1st public speech, calling for Occidental’s disinvestment from South Africa due to its policy of apartheid (mid-1981). - He graduated Bachelor of Arts with the major in political science in Columbia University in 1983. -He worked as director of the Developing Communities Project (a church-based community organization). He helped set up training program, a college preparatory tutoring program. -Entering Harvard Law School in 1988 and becoming an editor and also a first black president of the Harvard Law review. - Practicing as a civil rights lawyer and teaching at the University of Chicago Law School - Barack Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee. -1997 - 2004: State Senator ...
Words: 1413 - Pages: 6
...ISSUE REPORT F as in Fat: HOW OBESITY THREATENS AMERICA’S FUTURE 2010 JUNE 2010 PREVENTING EPIDEMICS. PROTECTING PEOPLE. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TRUST FOR AMERICA’S HEALTH IS A NON-PROFIT, NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO SAVING LIVES AND MAKING DISEASE PREVENTION A NATIONAL PRIORITY. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. Helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need—the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. TFAH BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lowell Weicker, Jr. President Former three-term U.S. Senator and Governor of Connecticut Cynthia M. Harris, PhD, DABT Vice President Director and Associate Professor Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University Robert T. Harris, MD Secretary Former Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Healthcare BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina John W. Everets Treasurer Gail Christopher, DN Vice President for Health WK Kellogg...
Words: 4180 - Pages: 17
...Improving the Educational Attainment of America’s Youth American students are not learning the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s world, where technology and economies are increasingly interacting globally. U.S. students are continuing to trail behind their peers of industrialized nations, who have been dominating the academic achievement ranks, according to results from a key international assessment. In comparison, Finland, South Korea, and Singapore students are consistently the top performing students in the world according to their PISA scores. What is it that these three countries are doing that the U.S. isn’t, when it comes to educating their students? Compared to the U.S., Singapore, Finland, and South Korea only recruit teachers from the top 10% to 33% of their top high school and college students. And in the case of Singapore and South Korea, students attend school on average 60 more days a year than U.S. students. By implementing teacher reform and longer school year attendance, the U.S. can improve the educational attainment of its youth. Scores from the 2009 PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) show 15-year-old students in the U.S. performing about average in reading and science, and below average, in math (PISA 2009). The PISA exam is one of a handful of tests that compare educational levels across nations...
Words: 3472 - Pages: 14
