FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

Failure of the American Public Education System

Failure of the American Public Education System

Introduction

In public schools, the nature of the relationship between subordinated bicultural children and families, on one hand, and the educational system, on the other, sometimes involves resistance and conflict and, at other times, submission and acceptance. This paper discusses the issue of public school failure with regards to eight major problems facing the American education system.

Schooling Closing

By the late 1990s, the dropout rates for Black students were twice those of White students, and for Hispanic students three times that of White students. Consistent with research findings for a century, the majority of school leavers survived on less, with their incomes in the lowest 20 percent of family incomes. These students were four times more likely to leave school than their peers whose families' incomes were in the top 20 percent of family incomes (Rumberger, 2007). .

In 2005, the national dropout rate was still about 25 percent, more than 410,000 students, but in urban high schools, the rate reached 60 to 70 percent. The same year the Urban Research Institute Education Policy Center announced that over 1.3 million ninth graders would not receive a high school diploma. Nationally, dropout rates doubled for students who had repeated a grade, signaling that the rule of non-promotion was not working. Research continued to show that students chose work over school (illegal work for many), had family and financial responsibilities, and no longer liked school or the uncaring teachers there. Young Latinas, with the highest rate of school leaving, cited family responsibilities, motherhood, and marriage as reasons not to stay in school. School leavers continued to earn less than those students who finished high school, and a higher percentage of young women among school leavers faced motherhood than their counterparts who stayed in school. School leavers still faced higher incidents of illegal activity in addition to drug use (Rumberger, 2007). .

Research shows that dropouts more often come from low-income families, are members of ethnic minorities, and receive less educational support at home. At school, dropouts have lower grades and lower standardized test scores, and they complete less homework than students who graduate. They have more discipline problems as measured by higher suspension rates, more absenteeism, and more tardiness. Students who fail to graduate also feel generally less involved in school and participate less in extracurricular activities. Outside of school, dropouts spend less time talking about school with their parents and less time reading (Rumberger, 2007). . Dropouts also are more likely to work outside of school and to report enjoying work more than school.

Overcrowded schools and classrooms

Nonetheless, it appears that attending smaller classes for three or more years increases the likelihood of long-term carryover effects. When analyzing small versus large classes, the literature appears to consider the class with fifteen to twenty students a smaller, more ideal class size. Small classes can provide conditions for better academic performance in content area subjects for bilingual ...