Evaluate High School Education in the US Essay

Despite the large number of students going to high school in the United States, there is not much of an assurance that they receive the necessary education that they should be getting. It is not the quantity of students attending high school that we should be concerned of, instead it should be the quality of education that these students get when they attend these schools. Right now, the current high school education being offered here in the United States is not enough to propel our nation’s youth to a successful future. Way back in the 1900s, only 10 percent of American adolescents falling between 14 to 17 years of age were enrolled in high schools, most of them from well-off families. When public secondary schools were introduced in the country, the number of students going to these schools increased dramatically. Comparing the 1900s and the year 2000, the percentage of teenagers who graduated from these high school institutions went up from only six percent to a whopping 88 percent (MSN Encarta, 2007). The main reason attributed to this increase was that more and more people especially those from the youth sector regarded education as a tool for success in an increasingly urban and industrialized city, thus greatly increasing the high school attendance rate. This could also be attributed to the strict labor laws which are enacted early in the 20th century, wherein fewer teenagers have to enter the workforce than that of the previous years. This gave them more time to focus on their education. With this at hand, we could then expect a better future, a better life after high school. But that wasn’t how it turned out to be. Despite the increasing number of high school students, still their performance are being questioned, whether or not they’re competitive in the real world. In an article by Angela Pascopella, it showed that it is necessary to have a shift in high school education in the country (Pascopella, 2005). This is based on a recent survey, wherein one education association stated that there is a need for â€Å"a shift in high school programs, challenging curriculum and continued focus on federal vocational education grant,† are the possible solutions to fix the high school education system of the country (Pascopella, 2005). According to the survey, two out of five high school graduates attested that there are certain gaps between what they learned in high school and the necessary skills, abilities and work habits that they need for actual work and for college education. The results showed that less than 25 percent of the respondents feel that they experienced a â€Å"challenge† in their high school education (Pascopella, 2005). These students take high school lightly, a walk in the park without actually learning the necessary skills and information that they need for the future that they will pursue. The need for a reform movement in high school education is high, since future complications resulting from these things are inevitable. The people in running this system deem the need to increase the academic rigor in high schools, and this can be achieved through proper planning and sorting, as to what is should be done for these students. The brilliant minds of the education system should collaborate in order to come up with an effective approach to fix this problem. High School education is definitely one of the best American inventions. It provided the proper supervision that the youth needs in his adolescence in order to prepare him for adulthood (MSN Encarta, 2007). This is a crucial stage which everyone should pay proper attention to, since the future of these youths means the future of our very own country. We need to give the best to fix this problem. Not only do we propel our youths towards success, we are also assured of a better world in the future.