Report: American students may be falling behind

A UNA student studies at Rivertown Coffee Company last week. A recent PISA report said the U.S. is falling behind in education.

The United States has recently ranked from 23rd to 25th worldwide in several subjects in the Program for International Student Assessment results.

These results have raised concern for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

“We have to see this as a wake-up call-We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.

To aid education levels, the Alabama Department of Education adopted common core standards this past November. Alabama will join 38 other states to standardize the curriculum of high school education.

“We have got to recognize the need to be competitive in a global society,” said Donna Jacobs, dean of education at UNA. “We have got to have a work force that is knowledgeable and skilled and is as productive, ambitious and creative as the rest of the world. That’s how we sustain our rightful place in this competitive global society. Education is the only thing that can ensure it’s maintained. Without that, we then become dependent on the bright minds from other places.”

President Obama’s budget plan is going to cut $100 billion from Pell Grants and other higher education programs.

“As long as you continue to fund education with tax dollars that are so dependent on the economy, you are going to see big swings upwards and downwards,” said Jacobs. “When we have an upwards swing in the economy, you’re going to see some fantastic initiatives get started.”

For several years, there has been speculation that video games and technology may be related to lower test scores. However, even with technology on the rise, the National Center for Education Statistics has reported a steady decline in high school dropout rates.

“It reflects a cultural obsession with technology-I believe it’s one of our priorities,” Susan Cleveland, a UNA counseling major.

Other variables may include parenting, although the question may be whether or not more parenting is truly better.

“Some parents are too involved,” said Jacobs. “Some parents enable their children in a way that the children then don’t take on the responsibilities themselves.”