Current Education Policies in US

Education policy describes government policies and principles the in the education segment in addition to the rules and laws that manage education systems. Education exists in various forms for different purposes in many institutions. Some of the institutions include job training, early childhood education, adult education, kindergarten, professional education, college, and graduate education. Hence, education policies directly impact the forms of education through different ages. Some of the issues of concern in education policies include graduation requirements, school size, school infrastructure investment, class size, curricular content, school choice, teaching methods, school privatization, teacher pay, education and certification, and teacher selection among many other issues ( Carnoy, Garcia, & Khavenson, 2015) . Moreover, the issues addressed in education policies also influence higher education. Over the past four decades, many nations have been undergoing education reforms aimed at improving the literacy levels in their countries. The paper will evaluate the US education policy, critique the education policy, and provide recommendations. 

The education policies for institutions are created at the federal, local, and state levels. The policies also define the regulations that ensure schools teach students are taught safely, efficiently, and fairly. Education is mainly the responsibility of the local and state governments. Private and public organizations as well as communities and states that establish colleges and schools, determine certification requirements and develop curricula depending on their needs. The overall structure of education finance indicates the dominant role and local government and state government in the education policy. The country spends over $1.2 trillion dollars on education annually and most of the funding comes from private sources, state, and local levels ( Zeichner, 2017) . In the secondary and elementary levels, about 90% of the funds come from non-federal sources. The Department of Education (ED) funds less than eight percent of education funds in the country. 

Evaluation of the US Education Policy 

The objectives of education policies in the US have been changing and evolving according to the current needs of the nation. The goals are continuously debated and revised. Some of the goals of public education include assisting their students to compete favorably in the global market, prepare students for citizenship, helping children to become critical thinkers, cultivating a skilled workforce, preparing students for college, and teaching cultural literacy. The education policy in the US has been evolving since the first settlement of Puritans whose main objectives revolved around religion. However, the main objective of the US education policy focuses on making their students competitive in the global industry ( Ball, 2015) . Although it is generally accepted that skills and knowledge are necessary for individual happiness and success, economic prosperity, and civic order, there are many disagreements regarding the information that should be taught in educational institutions and how it should be taught. Some of the major questions in the US education policy include: 

What are the right strategies to correct failure? 

Who should be educated? 

What are the techniques for measuring success? 

Who should teach the students? 

Where and when should children be educated? 

What should be the cost of education? 

Who should pay the education fees? 

Who is responsible for the delivery of information and education? 

The immediate stakeholders and interested parties in the education policy include businesses relying on educated laborers, students, reformers, parents, non-elected officials, teachers, elected officials, school administrators, education schools, and professors. In most cases, the education often put the stakeholders against each other in determining the right information that should be taught to children. The major tension has been between parent’s right in selecting what their children should be taught and the public authority that finances the education policies ( Garcia, 2016) . On the other hand, there may be tension between the federal, local, and state governments regarding certain aspects of funding, education content, and delivery. Other groups such as reform organizations, teachers’ unions, and parents’ groups also disagree among themselves about some basic issues. 

Traditionally, the state government, parents, and local governments have had the main responsibility in determining the education policy. The US Constitution does not mention the role of stakeholders according to the 10 th amendment. Therefore, the federal government’s role in education is minimal or limited. Education is mainly funded by state and local governments while the federal government contributes less than 15% of the total expenditure for secondary and elementary education ( Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., and Barton, 2016) . Because education is carried out and overseen by different local and state entities, there is much inequality and variation among the education systems. Due to the variation, most reformers argue that the federal government should have a bigger role in education. Other reformers insist that local communities and parents should have greater control. 

Current Education Policies 

The US has implemented various education policies but the paper will only mention the reforms implemented in the 21 st century. The most prominent US education policy issues in the twenty-first century have been academic performance and school choice. Parents have been demanding a more active role and more alternatives in the selection of schools they believe can offer a better education for children. State agencies, reform groups, and federal agencies have been arguing about education standards and whether there should be common strategies regarding education achievement and instruction. Although the Department of Education has the smallest number of employees, it has the third largest budget among all cabinet-level appointments to oversee and administer its programs. In 2001, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was passed by the Congress. The NCLB established measurable goals and set high standards for educational institutions to improve the performance of all public school students (Whitty, 2016). The Act required all states to develop standardized exams and tests to all students at particular grade levels so that they could receive federal funding. Each state was required to develop their own requirements and legislation. 

In 2009, President Barrack Obama announced the development of a competitive grant fund known as the Race to the Top Fund. The competition was developed by the Department of Education (ED) to improve achievement and promote innovation among local and state K-12 students. Moreover, it was funded by the ED Recovery Act and was worth $4.35 billion ( Vinovskis, 2015) . States could be awarded the funds for turning around the low performing schools, achieving performance standards, creating comprehensive data systems, adhering to Common Core standards, and implementing reforms. The objective of the fund was to encourage state and local governments to improve their education systems. For the states to become eligible for the fund, they had to satisfy particular “Common Core” standards. The states could then propose a series of reform objectives and submit proposals for the programs that would assist them to achieve their reform objectives. The Department of Education would then measures their success and progress according to the objectives as one of the processes of grant renewal. 

The Common Core describes an American education initiative that describes the measurable benchmarks in mathematics and English at all grade level from high school to kindergarten. The benchmarks were developed by the Council of Chie State School Officers and the National Governors Association in 2008 and 2009. However, many reform groups raised concerns about the impact of the standards on academic achievement. By 2014, 43 states had approved the standards (Coburn, Hill, & Spillane, 2016). Minnesota only adopted the standardized tests regarding English language arts only. South Carolina, Indiana, and Oklahoma initially approved the Common Core Standards but later repealed them. Virginia, Alaska, Texas, and Nebraska have not adopted the common core standards. 

Moreover, the US has education policies regarding online learning. Online learning is the fastest growing form of education not only in the US but also globally. Online education has been developing simultaneously with technological advancement. A course taken in a college or studio in New England may be taken in the entire US and world. Furthermore, students in secondary or elementary school can take online courses through virtual charter schools or their districts. However, some critics argue that online learning is not a proper technique of learning and should not be a substitute for classic instruction (Ball, 2016). On the other hand, proponents believe that the differences between online learning and classic instruction education are negligible. Nevertheless, about six million Americans take online classes annually. 

Although there have been significant policy changes in the 21 st century, there have also been milestones in the twentieth and nineteenth centuries. In 1862, the Morrill Act offered the first aid by donating land for building colleges. In 1890, the second Morrill Act allowed the country to set up support systems for land-grant universities and colleges. However, in 1896 the Supreme Court legalized segregation by allowing the creation of separate but equal schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling that allowed segregation in 1896 (Armstrong, D, Armstrong, F, and Barton, 2000). In 1964, the Civil Rights Act Title VI prohibited segregation according to national origin, race, or color in all public schools. in 1964, the Higher Education Act allowed federal aid allocations for poor postsecondary students. In 1980, the Congress officially formed the Department of Education. There are many other policies that were set up that were essential in developing the US education policy. 

Benefits of the US Education Policies 

Education policies have been essential in keeping children and students in school and allowed various agencies to measure the impact of education. For instance, in 2000, The National Center for School Engagement in a study of truancy prevention reported in 1999, 71% of high school graduates had jobs in comparison to 52% of high school dropouts who had jobs. also, the attendance policies show the differences between unexcused or excused absence and tardiness. They also assist in developing responsibility among students and determining the number of days a student may miss in school before facing disciplinary action. Therefore, attendance policies are significant because they encourage many students to remain in school (Burns and Coffin, 2001). The National Center for School Engagement insists that truancy may lead to school failure, juvenile delinquency, and social isolation. 

Education policies that determine when a student should be expelled or suspended are essential because they affect a child’s future. Despite the fact that students are often expelled for continuous violation of school regulations, it may not be the best option when managing behavioral problems. When a school expels a student, the child may end up losing the desire to study and they may decide to stop attending school and quit. When a child drops out of school, it may affect their entire lives because it may cause a lifetime of dependency on public assistance or low paying jobs (Haddad &Demsky, 1995). Therefore, schools should have policies that allow them to manage behavioral problems instead of resorting to expulsion or suspension. Education policies safeguard the health and wellness of students in institutions. The policies determine the safety of children or students in public schools. the policies explain how staff and teachers should react during medical emergencies, how often schools should have fire drills and the reactions during a terrorist attack the safety policies affect students beyond the classroom because a teacher is supposed to report suspected child abuse to the school or parents if the abuse occurred in the community or home (Heck, 2004). 

Education policies are essential when dictating how students should be divided within the community and whether the students within the district may attend schools in other districts or outside their area. Moreover, the rules determine a school’s diversity and population. by dictating the number of students within a particular school, it affects funding for the public school. Districting has a strong influence on the diversity of nation’s schools. Most schools are encouraging diversity because it will assist their students to cope and succeed in the global and diverse economy (Honig, 2006). Moreover, schools should ensure they are diversified according to language, geography, and socioeconomic factors among many other demographic factors. 

Education policies determine the equality in schools. All US schools have policies requiring that all forms of discrimination are reported to district administrators or school and that action should be taken immediately. Besides, there are policies that ensure that students who do not use English as their first language or students with disabilities should receive similar access to education as other children or students. It ensures that all people in the economy have equal chances and opportunities to thrive economically and contribute to the community and society. Furthermore, educational policies determine the role of federal, local, and state governments in education (UNESCO, 2006). It aligns accountability and responsibility with authority. The US is diverse and large and making education policies for an entire country would be challenging. However, delegating the authority to local and state government has allowed them to ensure people can learn at the basic level. 

Problems and Weaknesses of the US Education Policy 

Initially, the government developed an education policy that would meet the social and economic needs of the industrial revolution. However, many decades later, the established education system appears unable to meet the needs of the global and hyper-connected society. One of the major weaknesses of the US education policy is the lack of parental involvement. The time spent by children in classrooms is insufficient to instruct all students all they should know. Therefore, there must be other forms of interactions beyond school hours. Students whose parents do not have higher levels of education and those at as socioeconomic often struggle at school (Hoppe, 2002). Also, students from upper and middle-class families are also affected by lack of parental support. The career demands on parents and the overdependence on schools have put most children at risk because students spend a significant amount of time at home without proper parental support. 

Moreover, schools are closing everywhere. Public schools have been facing a series of challenges and many of them have found themselves in unwanted scenarios. Communities, parents, and students often feel targeted even if the schools' board members attempt to cite unbiased numbers. In such situations, it is difficult to come up with a consensus. Sometimes, closing a school may be inevitable but the local communities should first look for effective solutions before closing the schools. Rather than closing the underutilized public schools, the districts should consider turning the schools into other community uses such as adult education classes or community centers. Closing a public school must not be a short-term decision; it should focus on the long-term effects of closing the schools. while other public schools are being closed, other schools are overcrowded. About 15% of the classes in the US are overcrowded according to data released by the National Center for Education Statistics. The bigger the class, the lower the individual student experience and vice versa. Although it is an era when students require more attention than ever to be successful, the overcrowded classrooms are not only making it difficult for the teachers to be effective but also making it challenging to learn. 

The use of technology in classrooms has been accompanied by various challenges. Although most people support the use of technology in classrooms, it has put students at a risk. The screen culture has made the responsibilities of teachers more challenging. Education is becoming a form of entertainment in some ways because of technology (Hall &Hord, 2006). Parents often download educational games as soon as their children learn to use the touchscreen. Although parents have the best intentions, it has made the responsibilities of teachers more difficult because students have different knowledge bases and their technology savvy varies. 

Also, there is lack of diversity regarding gifted children. The most advanced and brightest students are often tagged “talented and gifted.” The programs for the gifted students begin early for individualized learning initiatives. Although the intentions are genuine and the ideology is sound, the practice has been attractive and monotone in public schools. District schools should focus on finding more effective techniques for identifying talented students. District school should develop strategies that extend beyond the “gifted” student model ( Klein & Rice, 2014) . There should be a national push to make gifted and talented programs more inclusive to address the needs of the dynamic and ever-changing needs of the American student. 

Furthermore, school spending has stagnated despite the improving economy. Although the country is still affected by the recession, a study of all the states revealed that 34 states are currently contributing less per student basis than they did before the recession. States contribute about 44% of the total education funds and the reduced spending on education means that there has been a crackdown on school budgets ( Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., and Barton, 2016) . The continued crackdown on school budgets will affect the high school graduation rates. Since the economy is more stable, education should receive more funding. 

Although more than 80% of students graduate from high school, about half of them are unprepared for the preparation for the industry demands ( Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., and Barton, 2016) . About 50% of high school graduates cannot complete math problems or proficiently read. The major issue is that schools are focusing on passing students to the next grade when they are supposed to be held back. Ultimately, they may be unable to complete coursework or keep up with their peers. Research shows that more than 40% of high school graduates are unprepared for real-world life and poor equipped for college. Such students who are passed on to the next level may be at a disadvantage because they are at a higher risk of dropping out of college or falling behind. 

There are a huge number of students who fall in the school to prison category. Over 50% of African American males who attend high school do not acquire a diploma. Out of the African American males who do not have a diploma, more than 60% may go to prison at one point ( Garcia, 2016) . Also, there has been a major gender gap in college especially in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). There is a lot that should be done to encourage girls to join such professions. It will allow girls to have careers in areas that were traditionally male-dominated. Nevertheless, most educators are not focusing on the gender gap. Although most of the problems are known, others are emerging issues such as the screen culture. Ultimately, the problems and weakness are preventing the US from becoming globally competitive. 

Recommendations 

Since the US education policy is quite broad and diverse, there should be a common way of standardization. Some of the two factors that should be standardized are how students get assessed and what should be taught. In contrast, some countries such as Finland standardized two essential and different factors in their education system: How teachers are trained and how schools are funded. The modern landscape of the US education policy would be better if the government stopped funding schools inequitably. In fact, the Supreme Court described the funding approach in the US as “unjust and chaotic.” All schools should be funded equitably regardless of the property values surrounding the public schools ( Carnoy, Garcia, & Khavenson, 2015) . Implementing education reforms would be easier if all schools received adequate funding. 

Also, the Congress should consider abolishing the Race to the Top fund. There should be a comprehensive meeting of the council of education stakeholder so that they can develop national guidelines according to the modern day needs of the American child. Furthermore, schools should adopt learner-centric policies where students and parents have more control over the learning experiences ( Zeichner, 2017) . The school curriculum should be based on real-world problems and anti-disciplinary. Also, a teacher's role should be transformed into a facilitator. 

Moreover, schools should place more emphasis on early childhood programs especially for students in low income earning neighborhoods. They can also focus on out-of-school programs where children can improve their non-cognitive and cognitive skills that may be transferred into their later career life, students’ academic life, family life, and social life. When such programs are implemented in communities that are dominated by African Americans, it is highly likely that it will improve their high school completion rates ( Garcia, 2016) . Besides, out-of-school programs for staff should focus on mentoring teachers, professional development, and offering chances for degree attainment. 

Currently, the school choice programs offer limited chances for families that are impoverished families who have to put up with awful city schools. Although most parents are comfortable with the school choices, they still argue that the schools require improvements. Expanding the school choice program choices will assist parents to select the best schools for their children. Also, homeschooled children and online students should be given an opportunity to participate in some practical programs and sports so that it can solve some of their practical frustrations (Lubienski, Brewer, & La Londe, 2016). The improved school choice programs may be a powerful tool for children in rural areas in expanding the subject matters such as foreign languages that are offered to students. In addition, schools should also teach communities on saving for college so that families from low income earning families are not disadvantaged. 

The education policies should require more accountability in reading and math skills. Schools should design robust accountability systems that will control the myopic focus on math and reading skills. The accountability systems should also focus on improving the proficiency of low performing students. Accountability systems will reflect the performance of students while offering more robust techniques for measuring performance. Such proposed changes may make data more useful, rebalance the curriculum and address some parental concerns. It may also assist in addressing the gender gap in the STEM. It will also refocus the education policies in the country into two main issues: how many students will be prepared and how well they will be taught ( Carnoy, Garcia, & Khavenson, 2015) . Well-designed education systems ensure that low performing students are making progress and offer families measures of school performance by indicating how their children are performing in all the courses and techniques for improving progress. Also, the education policies should have strategies for receiving feedback from all stakeholders. 

Also, the federal government should focus on deregulating the bureaucratic creep from Washington. Some of the rules proposed by Washington do more than harm because the needs of schools are quite different according to demography and geography. Although there is need to standardize education especially on how teachers are trained and how schools are funded, most of the remaining education policies should be left to school systems. Majority of school systems are too removed and more complex for Washington’s grip ( Zeichner, 2016) . Some of the policies burden the public schools without ensuring proper outcomes. Some of the policies risk turning the well-performing schools into the traditional low performing schools. Furthermore, state and local governments should focus on improving funding for public schools so that they can address the needs of modern-day American students. 

Conclusion 

The paper evaluates the US education policy, critiques the education policy, and provides recommendations. The American secondary and primary education provides a complex challenge for most reformers. Some public schools clearly underperform and the US has been performing dismally internationally in comparison to its peers especially in Japan and South Korea. However, despite the poor results, most parents are still satisfied with their children's performance because they are taught by education officials from the nations that perform well in math. On the other hand, most reformers in Asian countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Japan desire education policies that develop independent thinkers such as the US ( Zeichner, 2017) . Therefore, most reformers have a challenging task of balancing the needs of improving the performance of US public schools and parents who are satisfied by their children’s performance. 

One of the main challenges is how the US can improve its education policies without losing sight of its strengths that build the country. The merits of a decentralized system are that it gives more focus on the needs of the local communities. However, efforts to centralize the control of education may be ineffective because it will undermine the successes of the decentralized system. Improving the country’s schooling strengths simply means that the government should allocate more funds for public schools. The National Center of Education Statistics states that the government spends an average of $13000 per public school student annually. The figures vary according to community, states, and course. Nevertheless, the issue is how the funds are spent and whether they are getting maximum value from the spending (Lubienski, Brewer, & La Londe, 2016). The US education policy has evolved greatly over the past century but it still needs to be improved. Initially, it addressed the emerging needs of an industrialized nation but it lost focus and has not evolved to address the needs of modern day United States. 

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