Improving_Education

Education Improvement By Sam Eldakak Introduction:- Education of the future generation is one of the most important factors that help in the development of a nation. The quality of education is the prime consideration in improving education systems. The US president has given education policies a top priority for future development of economy in US. Various policies and Acts have contributed to the development of present day education system in US. However, new reforms are under consideration to develop the system further. “The No Child Left behind (NCLB) Act has roots in Lyndon Johnson's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was signed into law in January 2002. The key requirements of the NCLB Act are for each state to set goals for proficiency levels in reading and math, and increase them gradually until all students are performing on grade level.” (Wright, 2010, Para.5). The No Child Left behind (NCLB) Act stresses that each state should create methods that should be put into action to evaluate the yearly performance of each student and produce an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The Act also points out that schools should publish its success rate and make it known to parents. NCLB further sets to achieve highly qualified teachers by encouraging the schools to participate in professional development program. “On Feb. 13, 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,the act intends to achieve many goals which includes, Increasing federal funds for education and health care as well as entitlement programs (such as extending unemployment benefits) by $224 billion. It also includes making $275 billion available for federal contracts, grants and loans.” (The Recovery Act, 2009, Para.1). “Student Loans and The Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act took effect on July 1st, 2010, the main goal of these laws and a change is to make it easier and less expensive for students to receive financial aid in both student loans and government grants. Students can now apply directly to the government for any federal student loans from the US Education Department which will eliminate many the hassles and some of the cost of going through traditional financial institutions like banks and other lenders” (Student Loans and, the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2010). This paper attempts an analysis of the present status of education systems in America, based on interview of professors, Teachers and administrators of the Higher education level and secondary education level. One set of open ended questions has been prepared for each higher education and secondary education system for the purpose of analysis. The Interview:- The interview has been setup in an environment that is priorly fixed with the participant. It has been seen that the environment is with little or no distractions, where the participant can feel comfortable. The purpose of the interview has been explained to the participants. The importance and relevance of confidentiality of the interview has also been explained and queries from the participant have been adequately answered. Interview Questions for Higher Education section: 1) What are your views on impacts of Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act' 2) Is it necessary for higher educational institutions to be research oriented' 3) What are the possible effects of Research based education in your Job responsibilities' 4) Does University ranking by various organizations help to boost performance of educational institution' Answers by higher education level professors:- 1) It is a great relief for students because direct loans from the federal governments are provided at low interest rate. I have seen financially backward students, who were good at academics, suffer due to high interest rates and other terms and conditions put forward by private loan lenders. Students were also seen falling into depression when they do not get well paid jobs to pay back loans. The Act will improve performance by students as a big worrying factor “paying back loans” will be out of their mind. 2) It is known that research is necessary for further advancement in knowledge. I feel including research based activities will ensure the quality of education, and students will achieve success in gaining knowledge that are of practical importance in the future. The interest of the education institution and the teacher, in acquiring knowledge of the latest research developments, plays an important part in producing research based quality education. 3) Research based education entrust a high level of responsibility on the Teacher as well as the institutions. As a professor, I feel that a teacher should identify the requirements that should be met to implement a good research environment in an institution. Here, the teacher becomes more responsible in steering the research aims so he or she should spend quality time in studying the latest developments in their respective fields. 4) Ranking help institutions realize their national stand in the quality of education. If an institution underperforms, it should be a collective responsibility of the institution, teachers, the state and Federal organization to implement improvement program, to enhance the quality of education it provides. Answers by higher level administrator:- 1) It is my perception that community colleges will be the most benefited by the Act. These colleges have a significant part in producing graduates in our country. The Act will also help in providing funds to community colleges so that institutions can enhance their facilities and in designing, improving and implement educational programs. The Act has also concentrated on improving minority institutions which is a big step in achieving allover quality standard in education system across America. 2) I think in the modern world, research seems to be the flavor for higher educational institutions. If research work conducted in an institution generates attention, then it will be advantageous for both the institution and its students. Students from a reputed research institution seem to have promising careers. But I don’t think all research based institutions can produce quality research. Funding for research activities can be a major constraint, especially in the post recession scenario. 3) I feel that in research based education system, the role of administration plays a vital part. The first and foremost concern is the acquirement and administration of funds required for research activities. The administration department will have to keep proper track on research funds and see that these are used accordingly and such responsibilities will become pressurizing when an institution has a large amount of money involved in research activities. The selection of qualified professors and lecturers who can produce quality research is another important thing. 4) In my opinion, ranking of institutions by certain organizations can be biased due to the fact that political influence can often affect this process. The State and federal governments should entrust only high qualified organizations to do such ranking. The criteria used for ranking of universities and colleges should be thoroughly analyzed and reviewed by state and federal governments. Interview Questions for Secondary Level Section: 1) How far is the No Child Left behind Act successful' Please state your views. 2) In what ways have NCLB law affected your Job responsibilities' 3) Explain your views on Teacher quality' Answers by secondary level teacher:- In my experience NCLB Act has been successful up to a certain extent by imposing increased accountability on the schools and teachers. The standardized test result that has to be done yearly makes the statement on how the school performs in providing quality education. I think this has helped teachers understand the importance of education systems for developing the nation. At the same time, incentives and penalties based on performance of the school may drive the school to manipulate test data or by lowering official standards. 1) The NCLB law has put a lot of pressure on teachers like me who have to improve the performance of students. If the yearly test results turn out to be poor, the ability of the teachers becomes questionable and at the same time there will be a lot of pressure from the institutional board. Testing on grade level for each student and ensuring that he or she gets the minimum level result for math and reading is an onerous task that calls for a lot of hard work. 2) From my experience it transpires that a person with good academic merits and required qualifications need not essentially be a good teacher. It has been seen that many such teachers are not able to convey the concept of a topic to the students even though they themselves understand it quite well. So, a qualified person cannot be a good teacher all the time and selecting teachers that can effectively teach will be a hard task for educational institutions. Answers by secondary level administrator:- 1) The NCLB has made a firm point in acquiring quality teachers and emphasizing the need for professional development. I feel this demand cannot be easily taken up by the institutions as it requires additional expenses that cannot be met by new NCLB funding. The NCBL Act was turned into law at a point when most of the states were under financial crisis and at that time large cuts were made in educational funds. Most of the institutions found it impossible to abide by the new law. 2) Keeping the standard of the school facilities and allocating the needed fund for activities like professional development of teachers, maintenance of school facilities etc will place heavy responsibilities on administration. Mismanagement of funds will end up in bad reputation and public outcry. 3) I have seen that most of the qualified people opt for teaching as a Job when they have no other options left or because they are attracted to policy packages. Getting a teacher that can effectively teach and at the same time qualified to teach is not an easy task. I think professional development program in this case will be useful in improving the teaching skills of teachers. Discussion:- In relation to the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility (SAFR) Act, the higher education level professor feels that the students will be benefited as there are no middle men involved and loans are directly available from the Federal government. It will, thus, make higher education in colleges and universities more accessible and America will be able to produce more graduates. It also decreases the mental stress faced by financially backward students as they do not have to particularly look for well paid jobs which are less in number post recession. Students can also concentrate on academic merits at the end of their academic year rather than concentrating on getting high paid jobs. This will certainly increase the performance of students. In case of need of research for higher educational institution the professors are of the opinion that research based education system ensures quality. At the same time, he confirms that interest of the lecture and education providers is also of great importance in producing quality research. Research oriented education can give practical experience and knowledge to students. In most fields, practical experience is of utmost significance than theoretical knowledge. It is seen that companies when recruiting for Jobs, prefer candidates that have practical experience because there is less time needed to train them as they are aware of with the concepts both theoretically and practically. The higher level administrator also voice the opinions of professors and at the same time confirm that student with practical experience are more in demand in the job market. Both professors and administrators are of the opinion that in a research oriented institution the responsibilities will tend to increase. Professors and the administration will be affected if necessary funds to carry out the research activities are not maid available. According to the view of Higher education professors, ranking of institutions, based on quality of education offered, will induce institutions to perform better. At the same time, the administrators feel that such ranking system should not be biased and influenced by political powers, which will degrade the education system. No Child Left behind Act helps in improving the education system at elementary, middle class and high school levels, by focusing on accountability. Secondary level teacher, assert that accountability part of this Act will help in improving the performance of schools and also the students and teachers. At the same time they have asserted that such acts can also lead to manipulation of results, leading to degradation of the education system. “Opponents of NCLB argue that because states set their own goals and assessments, states may make tests easier, and schools are taking measures so that achievement appears higher than it actually is. To support this is the failure of students to perform on the National Assessment of Educational Progress as well as they do on state-designed assessments. Some educators and parents have expressed a discomfort with the standardization of progress, in that it undermines individual human potential.” (Wright, 2010, Para.5). Improving teacher quality and, at the same time maintaining supply and demand for teachers seem to be a major challenge. Selecting a qualified person to teach is easy but selecting a person with appropriate teaching skills is hard. This issue can be resolved by selecting qualified candidates for teaching and testing them for their efficiency. Less skilled candidates can later be enrolled into professional teaching skill improvement programmes. This can be applied when supply does not meet demand for good teachers. Rewarding teachers with effective teaching skills will also encourage teachers to improve their teaching skills. “Dropping out of school is one of the most serious and pervasive problems facing special education programs nationally. The National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) found that approximately 36% exited school by dropping out and the NLTS data also revealed that risk factors such as ethnicity and family income are related to dropout rates” (Current Challenge Facing the Future of Secondary Education and Transition Services for Youth with Disabilities in the United States, 2004, Para.41). Adequate funds should be put into action to decrease the number of school drop outs. Reference List Current Challenge Facing the Future of Secondary Education and Transition Services for Youth with Disabilities in the United States. (2004). ncset. Retrieved December 30, 2010, from http://www.ncset.org/publications/discussionpaper/ Student Loans and, the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act. (2010). prlog. Retrieved December 30, 2010, fromhttp://www.prlog.org/10790682-student-loans-and-the-student-aid-fiscal-responsibility-act.html The Recovery Act. (2009). recovery.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2010, fromhttp://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx Wright M. (2010). Prose and Cons of the No Child Left behind Act. EHow. Retrieved December 30, 2010, from http://www.ehow.com/about_4811080_pros-child-left-behind-act.html