The condition of secondary education - Essay Example

The of Secondary Education in the US School Within the American education system, secondary schooling encompasses 7 years of the education process, approximately 7th through 12th grade. The curriculum offered includes core subjects, such as math and English, as well as supplementary and elective courses provided to instruct students within vocational and college prep programs. However, most secondary schools in the United States are public institutions and as such are faced with a variety of funding issues which directly influence the functioning of the educational system (Barrett, n.d). As a result, secondary schools in the US are under constant pressure to perform regardless of the availability of materials and programs capable of improving educational quality.

The vast majority of American secondary schools are public institutions dependent on funding from local, state, and federal governmental sources. However, this funding is contingent on the performance of students on standardized tests within core academic areas. The “No Child Left Behind Act” requires that schools maintain certain levels of achievement in math and English and provide proof of this through yearly state testing of the student body. This law applies to both primary and secondary schools, and facilities which fail to achieve the required standard risk losing their federal funding and may fall under the requirements of their state (New York Times, 2011).

Besides the additional expense related to standardized testing, this increases pressure on teachers and administrators and limits the flexibility of the educational system in general concerning topics of academic concentration and teaching methods.While secondary education is subjected to constant governmental statues demanding compliance with current statutes, that funding which is available is not adequate to provide schools with all of the required materials, staff, faculty training, and educational programs needed to provide high quality education.

As over 90 percent of secondary schools are public institutions, they bear near total responsibility for educating the minors within the population. Overcrowding within dense populations further strains available text books and other learning materials and limits the availability of instructors. Recent studies suggest that the combination of these circumstances greatly inhibits a student’s ability to learn (wik.edu.uiuc.edu, n.d.). This threatens the ability of individual schools to achieve testing standards in order to gain future funding while reducing the quality of education provided.

Besides the direct impact of classroom density and shortages in materials and faculty, funding problems also hinder the ability of secondary schools to provide programs, both academic and otherwise, designed to improve learning and promote the well-being of students. Over the last ten years grade and graduation rates within the secondary school system have remained relatively stable (New York Times, 2011). However, were the funding made available there are a variety of programs which if implemented could positively current circumstances.

Tutoring and peer counseling programs as well as incentive programs designed to improve access to faculty training and education could all contribute to improved academic performance, but are impossible given currently strained conditions.Secondary schools bear a large percentage of the burden of educating the youth of America. However, it is individual school systems which are faced with the continual challenges of providing quality education with balancing budgetary issues. Stringent state and federal policies further threaten the scope of the ability of secondary education providers have in providing quality education without addressing fundamental problems which threaten the educational system in general.

These circumstances have together conspired to create a troublesome atmosphere for American secondary education in the 21st century.Resources:Barrett, Megan. Secondary Education in the United States. Hobsons and Educational Testing Service. Web. Retrieved Oct 21 2011: http://www.toeflaccess.com/articles/ETS/us/study/what_study/ed_sys/overview_higher_ed/secondary_ed.html (2011) No Child Left Behind Act. The New York Times. Web. Retrieved Oct 21 2011: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/no_child_left_behind_act/index.

htmlSchool Funding. wik.ed.uiuc.edu. Web. Retrieved Oct 22 2011: http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/School_Funding