Source: The Guardian, 9/7/2018
America’s schools are in trouble – but it’s not all about money. In 2014, the US spent an average of $16,268 a year to educate a pupil from primary through tertiary education…,well above the global average of $10,759. And – at the broad level – all that money does not appear to be translating into better results for US students. The issues are systemic, says Marc Tucker, the NCEE president, and getting worse. The problem, Tucker says, is that US schools were developed on a “factory model” – originally teachers were mainly female graduates with few other options in the workplace. The US still treats its teachers as if that were the case while the world’s most successful school systems have become “professional” and treat the recruitment and development of highly qualified teachers as integral to their education system. The solution is clear, he says. “We have to have more highly educated teachers and we need to pay them more,” he said.