The Academic Performance of Foreign Students Compared to Local American Students

American schools have shown great increases in tutoring, pre-college agendas, opportunity, and individualized areas of study. Educators are realizing that standardized tests are not conducive to a good education, and the United States educational program progresses each year. However, there are areas and there are countries that the United States lags behind when it comes to education. It should be noted that teachers, parents, and students all play a role in successful education, and none of those pieces can be missing for success.

A recent study conducted on different education systems around the world found the United States to be in the middle of the countries. Out of 57 surveyed countries, it was discovered that the United States systems are ranked 27th in math and 34th in science. Some countries, such as China, still send their students to the United States in order for them to receive a better education. China, in conjunction with the United States, has the largest international student program in all of the world.

The United States does excel in opportunity and lack of censorship. Political agendas do not drive the curriculum like they may in some Eastern based countries. Bad times in the country’s history such as segregation and the Civil War are discussed freely in American schools. This bad times are not ignored or covered.

One of the top school systems in the world belongs to the Finnish. They do not have a preschool program, no standardized testing, equal lessons for all students, no specialized programs such as gifted, and all teachers are required to have their Master’s Degree in Education before they enter the classroom as a teacher. These ideas seem to be working for the Finnish students.

Other top educational programs belong to the countries of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Canada. Some of these countries require after school and weekend study programs. Children are pushed to excel in such hot subjects as science, math, and technology. The United States seems more willing to experiment with new and innovative programs some with success and some not so much.

Most educators will tell you that to have a success in a school any where in the world, it will require students who are willing to work, teachers who are educated in the latest and who care, and parents who are willing to play an active role in their children’s education. These philosophies hold true all over the entire world.