The Education System Must Provide Students with Options

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The American education system has existed for a long time. Over that span of time, it has been criticized, manipulated, and modified constantly. It is frequently a central topic of political elections because there are so many opinions on the matter. Everybody seems to think that their way of running the system is the best. But whose system really is best? The answer is dependent on the student, which is why the student should be able to choose which high school to attend. A major problem with today’s education system is that students are so limited in their high school options. Approximately 9.5 times more students in the United States attend public schools than do private schools. [2] The reason for this fact is not because students choose to go to public high school; it is because most are forced to. School systems always claim that the needs of the student are the number one priority. In reality, while teachers may put their students first, the administration of the school and its governing body will always put money first. For schools, the key to getting money is test scores. The government gives out money to schools based on test results and improvement. This is the reason for the burdensome barrage of standardized tests that most public school students are subject to every year. While this money is beneficial for the students, is it worth the extra stress and workload added to their plate every year? To most students in our English 11 class, the cost was not worth the reward. When we had an in-class discussion, many students were very outspoken about feeling unnecessary pressure concerning the PSSA or other statewide examinations. Students believe that they are in school to be successful and to get into college, not to ma... ... middle of paper ... ... students select theirs. This is a necessary change to the way the education system is run in the United States. Works Cited Barnett, Jeffrey L. "State and Local Government Finances Summary: 2008." United States Census Bureau. Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. . The Center for Education Reform. "K-12 Facts." The Center for Education Reform. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. . National Center for Education Statistics. "Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. . Pope, Denise Clark. "Doing School" How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 2001. 32. Print.

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