The document outlines 5 surprising facts about public education in the US: 1) According to international test scores, US student performance in reading, math and science has not improved over the last decade and US rankings have declined in those areas. 2) Despite increased spending, with the average spent per student reaching $10,615, performance has still declined. 3) Many teachers feel unprepared, with only 20% feeling ready to teach to high standards, and 40% of science and 34% of math teachers lacking an undergraduate major in their subject area. 4) Over 1 million students drop out of high school each year, and the US has fallen to 22nd in graduation rates among developed nations.

1. 5 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT PUBLIC
EDUCATION IN THE U.S.
Meredith Cohen

2. 5. WE’RE FALLING EVEN FURTHER BEHIND

According to the
Organization for
Economic Cooperation
and Development
(OECD)’s 2012
triennial Programme
for International
Student Assessment
(PISA), the U.S. has
shown no significant
improvement in
reading, math, or
science literacy over
the last decade.

4. 5. WE’RE FALLING EVEN FURTHER BEHIND
In 2009, our rankings, out of 34 developed nations, in reading,
math, and science were as follows:
 Reading: 10th
 Math: 24th
 Science Literacy: 19th
 In 2012 those rankings dropped to 20th, 29th, and 22nd.


6. 4. WE’RE SPENDING MORE
According to former Secretary of Education William J.
Bennett, the average per-pupil spending in U.S. public
schools rose 212% from 1960 to 1995 in real (i.e.
inflation-adjusted) dollars.
 Today the government – federal, state, and
local, combined – spends, on average, $10,615 to
send one child to public school for one year.
 Compare that to how much the rest of the world
spends


7. 3. TEACHERS FEEL
UNPREPARED
40% of public high school science teachers
have neither an undergraduate major nor
minor in their main teaching field and 34% of
public high school math teachers did not
major or minor in math or related fields.
 Only one in five teachers feels well prepared
to teach to high academic standards.


8. 2. WE’RE NOT FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL
Some 1.1 million American students drop out of
school every year. (EPE, 2012)
 After World War II, the United States had the #1
high school graduation rate in the world. Today, we
have dropped to # 22 among 27 industrialized
nations. (OECD, 2012)


10. 1. DROPPING OUT IMPACTS HEALTH
The health of a typical high school dropout, by age 18, is
similar to that of a more educated person in his 40s.
(College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, 2010)
 White men with four years of college live 14.2 years longer
than black men who drop out of high school. White women
with college degrees live 10.3 years longer than black
female high school dropouts. (Olshansky, et al., 2012)
