U.S. Slides in IT Rankings > Schooling is one

Schooling is one

as well as outsourcing

reply to RayW
No Child Left Behind is a huge mistake. It keeps the average students behind, thus widening the gap between the AP/Honors students and the average students. If a child needs to be left behind a grade, because of STANDARDIZED test scores, why should everyone be punished (as is the current system under NCLB). If there are any low test scores, teachers in states such as Texas freak out because the Texas Education Agency for some strange reason puts more weight on the failing one or two instead of the 15-25 passing students.

I know this isn't very PC, but there have always been three classes of students in modern American public education: Honors/Advanced Placement, your everyday college bound student, and the small majority that get held behind (smaller even than the AP classes).

Other countries embrace their scholars. They make going to college/university accessible to all. "If you're smart enough to make it in, we will help you pay!"

Heh, I can't say what I was going to say, but let's just say that the US Gov't doesn't do all that it can do to help get everyone that wants to, get into college. I was blessed to have parents pay/get scholarships to go. Some of my friends were not. What's sad is, some of them are smarter than me and it makes me feel sad or guilty. I don't know how to describe it.

Seeing this list doesn't surprise me, and it shouldn't surprise anyone else.
--
The Perils of Living in 3-D: »www.antwanpayne.com

When you change from a meritocracy to embracing mediocrity, you're doomed as a nation.

Yes! And its much easier to influence people who are uneducated.

reply to nixen
Meritocracy and mediocrity are neither synonyms or antonyms. So neither ensures the existence or lack thereof of the other.