Attention Economy


Saturday, April 1, 2017

America’s High-School Education System – Barely Rigorous

Anyone who studied in a rigorous A-levels (or equivalent) style high school system or in a German/French/East Asian high school system is often shocked by the ridiculously easy classes offered at American high schools. Here is some interesting evidence on the comparative lack of rigor in the American high school system:
“In the 2001 survey, foreign exchange students reported that high school classes in the U.S. seemed easier than classes in their home countries. When asked to rate the relative difficulty of U.S. classes, 56% replied “a lot easier” and 29% said “a little easier.” Only 6% said “a little harder” and 5% said “much harder.” The 2001 American students who had spent time abroad as foreign exchange students agreed, although less emphatically: 29% answering “much easier” and 27% saying “a little easier” when asked how their classes at home compared to those abroad. Of the American students, 13% called U.S. classes “a little harder” and 17% “much harder.” On average, then, American students also judged U.S. classes as easier….
Students from abroad are even more likely today to describe U.S. classes as easier than they were in 2001. The combined “much easier” and “a little easier” responses grew from 85.2% in 2001 to 90.0% in 2016. The change in the “much easier” rating, increasing from 55.9% to 66.4%, is statistically significant. Considering the rhetoric of U.S. curriculum reform over the past 15 years—the calls for higher standards, more rigorous coursework, deeper learning, and stronger preparation for college—these results are surprising.”