Education

No Child Left behind

Public education in the United States is not without its problems. Since the abolishment in the 1950s of the “separate but equal” concept of schooling, attempts have been made to provide adequate instruction to all students regardless of socioeconomic status or geographical location.

However, recent evidence from national testing clearly indicates that all groups do not score equally. White students and Asian Americans invariably score higher than African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans at all grade levels and in all subjects. Students from families in a low-income or poverty situation also score lower than the leaders. The current effort in American education is directed at closing the achievement gaps that separate these groups.

The federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), demands that all students in all grades and in all subjects be proficient by the close of school year 2013–14. This is a tall order, and many groups in the United States are voicing objections not only to the seemingly impossible goals set in this legislation but to other aspects of the legislation.

Regardless of the shortcomings of NCLB, whether real or imagined, the education system in the United States needs attention. One example will make this clear: since 1990 the percentage of students graduating from high school has actually dropped. After climbing steadily in previous decades to a high near 90 percent, there has been a slow but steady decline of a few percent each year since 1990. Couple this outcome with a general slippage in the rank of schools in the United States in international comparisons and the task set out for the educational community is well understood.

Developing World

The education picture in countries of the developing world is radically different. Considering literacy rates again, there are a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa where over half of the adult population is illiterate. The worst-case situation is Niger, a poor country in west Africa, where the illiteracy rate in 2001 was estimated to be 83.5 percent. The United Nations Human Development Report for 2003 also indicates that the probability at birth of not surviving to age 40 in Niger is 38.7 percent. This says that on average nearly four of every 10 newborns will not live to their 40th year. Several other African countries have even higher percentages in this category.

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