Education-related concerns are hot subjects in America, both in the news media and among the general population. Numerous issues plague the education system today, including government funding reductions, modifications to disciplinary measures, and much more. Everyone may agree that it is a noble goal to provide our citizens with a top-notch education. There are, nevertheless, a wide range of opinions regarding the best way to go about doing that. And that results in heated discussions with ardent supporters on both sides.

It is critical for parents, taxpayers, and students to comprehend concerns related to education. Being knowledgeable allows you to add significant value to the conversation. Additionally, you will be able to make wiser choices regarding the causes you will champion and the plans you will make for the future.

A great deal of the most important primary, secondary, and post-secondary education concerns of the day are covered in length in this article. It also describes four new developments that could upend the education industry. You’ll become knowledgeable about:

1. Government support for education

The main topic of discussion while talking about contemporary difficulties in education is school funding. Tax revenues are the main source of funding for the elementary and secondary public education system in the United States. In 2021, public K–12 schools received almost 89 percent of their funding from state and municipal governments. Following the Great Recession, most states cut back on their financing for education. Taking into account that the majority of governmental income comes from sales and income taxes, which tend to decrease during economic downturns.

Still, a lot of states continue to provide schools with less funding than they did before to the Great Recession. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) reports in a 2022 article that K–12 education would obtain the largest-ever one-time federal contribution. But the CBPP also projects that pandemic-related increases in school expenditures may cause this historic financing to be insufficient. In recent years, the formulae used by the governments to support education have faced criticism and legal action. For instance, the Kansas Supreme Court declared in 2017 that the legislature’s method of funding schools was unconstitutional due to its insufficiency in providing funding for education.

Reduced budget often results in staffing levels, program offerings, and student resources being reduced. Sometimes schools cannot afford to pay for necessary upkeep. According to a 2021 assessment, 53% of public schools in the United States are in need of restorations and repairs, and about 25% of schools are in fair or bad condition. In addition, a poll conducted in 2021 found that teachers used $750 of their own funds on supplies for the classroom on average.

In 2018, teachers in Arizona, Colorado, and other states went on strike to protest lack of funding for education, marking a turning point in the issue. A few of the demonstrations led to small increases in funding, but many educators think more needs to be done.

2. Policies for discipline

According to data from the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education in 2021, suspension and expulsion rates for black students are disproportionately high. For example, in K–12 institutions, black male students enroll in 7.7% of classes yet receive more than 40% of suspensions. Many people think that certain teachers discriminate while enforcing discipline policies and contribute to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” This is due to the fact that studies have shown a notable increase in the likelihood that kids who are expelled or suspended would interact with the juvenile justice system.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education released guidelines in 2014 for all public schools on creating disciplinary practices that lessen disparities and adhere to federal civil rights laws. The guidelines encouraged schools to limit the use of exclusionary disciplinary measures like suspension and expulsion and to adopt more positive interventions like counseling and restorative justice strategies. Additionally, the guidelines stated that schools risk losing federal funding if they implemented policies that disproportionately affected certain racial groups. The opponents of the guidelines contend that doing away with suspensions and expulsions deprives educators of important tools for dealing with student misbehavior regardless of race, such policies are not discriminatory. One major 2014 study found that the racial disparities in school suspension rates could be explained by the students’ prior behavior rather than by discriminatory tactics on the part of educators.

The 2018 recommendations were subject to a review and potential revocation by the Federal Commission on School Safety, which was created following the Parkland, Florida school shootings. As per a survey conducted by Education Next soon after the review was revealed, a mere 27% of Americans endorse federal rules that restrict racial discrepancies in school punishment.

3. Safety in schools

Numerous high-profile mass shootings in American schools over the past few years have claimed dozens of lives and sparked discussions about the best practices for student safety. Following the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school massacre that claimed 17 lives, 57% of teens expressed concern about potential gun violence at their school.

It has been suggested by former President Trump and other lawmakers that schools would be safer if staff members, including teachers with specialized training, were permitted to carry concealed guns. The concept was to provide specialized training to adult volunteers who were already skilled with a pistol so they could handle an active shooter scenario until law enforcement could respond. Armed staff intervention, according to supporters, may put a stop to the menace and save lives. Furthermore, if potential attackers were aware that school staff members were armed, they might be deterred from attacking a school.

More guns in schools, according to critics, will result in an increase in mishaps, injuries, and terror. They argue that the notion that armed school administrators could successfully repel attacks is unsupported by substantial evidence. According to certain data, it could be the other way around: According to an FBI investigation, of active shooter scenarios from 2000 to 2013, 21 out of 45 occurrences resulted in casualties for the law enforcement officers pursuing the shooter. And the upkeep of law and order was the major goal of those extremely skilled individuals. Teachers shouldn’t be focused on anything other than teaching kids, thus it’s improbable that they would fare any better in these circumstances.

The National Education Association (NEA) claims that arming teachers with weapons is not the solution. In a survey conducted in March 2018, 74% of NEA members were against arming school employees, and 2/3 of them stated that they would feel less safe at work if staff members carried guns. In order to prevent gun violence in schools, the NEA is in favor of policies that mandate universal background checks, preventing mentally ill people from purchasing guns, and banning assault weapons.

4. Standardized testing

Some individuals think that educational reform entails altering the structure to guarantee that pupils across the nation meet the same criteria. Standardized examinations are designed to help ensure that all students become proficient in the course material and to give an objective measure of student achievement. The purpose of standardized testing was to hold public schools responsible if they did not give every kid quality teaching. It was believed that in the absence of such safeguards, minority and low-income kids would fall between the cracks and not obtain the same quality education as their more privileged white classmates.

The results of these examinations were used to evaluate schools and teachers during the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era. Schools with declining results to par encountered harsh examination and, occasionally, closure or state control. Assessments of teachers’ efficacy were based on how much their pupils improved on national tests. The most severe elements of NCLB were eliminated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which went into effect in 2016. Nevertheless, it kept in place the mandate that pupils take tests once in high school and annually in Grades 3 through 8.

However, a lot of detractors claim that one of the main issues in education is the widespread use of standardized testing. They contend that the drive to achieve high test results has led to a teach-to-the-test methodology in which more time is spent on test preparation at the expense of other disciplines that are not assessed, such music, art, and physical education. Additionally, they assert that policymakers overemphasize the meaning of standardized test results, which don’t present a clear or complete picture of overall student learning.

5. The instruction of evolution

Originally established to propagate religious beliefs, public education in the United States has evolved into a wholly secular organization. Furthermore, there has been discussion regarding how to teach the origins of life to children in public schools for nearly a century.

Almost all scientists now agree that evolution occurs by natural selection, according to Darwin’s hypothesis. Many Americans, on the other hand, nevertheless disagree, believing that life was guided into being. According to two 2014 studies, 98% of scientists who were members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science thought that humans were evolved. However, it also showed that, on the whole, only 52% of adult Americans concurred.

Some states have outright prohibited teachers from discussing evolution in the classroom over the years. Some have insisted that students be permitted to contest the validity of evolution from a scientific standpoint or that the Judeo-Christian concept of divine creation (also known as creationism) be given equal weight.

Some contend that the notion of intelligent design—which holds that an intelligent cause rather than natural selection is the best explanation for the complexity of living things—is a valid scientific theory that belongs in the curriculum of public schools. They claim that because it doesn’t always attribute life’s design to a supernatural deity or supreme being, it differs from creationism.

Intelligent design is creationism in a masquerade, according to its detractors. They believe that because it is based solely on religious principles and lacks a reliable scientific foundation, it should not be taught in public schools. Furthermore, the courts have frequently ruled that the Constitution’s ban on the establishment of religion by the government is violated by the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, which encourage religious beliefs. Nevertheless, the discussion goes on.

6. Tenure of teachers

When a teacher has tenure, their school system must show that there is a valid reason for their termination. Public school teachers in many states are awarded tenure after completing acceptable assessments for a predetermined amount of time (one to five years, depending on the state). In certain states, tenure is completely nonexistent. Additionally, the problem has long been mired in controversy.

Tenure advocates contend that it shields educators from being fired for political or personal offenses, such as opposing administrators or teaching divisive topics like evolution. Teachers with tenure can speak out for their kids without worrying about backlash. Additionally, proponents claim that tenure allows educators to experiment with cutting-edge teaching strategies to create more engaging learning environments. Additionally, tenure prevents fresh graduates who make less money from unilaterally replacing more expensive and experienced professors.

Some argue that tenure prevents ineffective teachers from being fired since it is very expensive and time-consuming to fire someone through the legal system. They claim that because teachers’ employment is safe regardless of whether they perform above expectations or simply the bare minimum, tenure can induce complacency. Additionally, even if the granting of tenure often hinges on teacher evaluations, 2017 research found that, in practice, more than 99 percent of teachers receive ratings of satisfactory or better. Some administrators admit to being reluctant to give low ratings because of the time and efforts required to document teachers’ performance and provide support for improvement.

7. Poverty

The issue of student poverty is getting worse. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 52% of American public school pupils were low-income as of the 2019–2020 academic year  in 2000–2001, just 38% of kids were deemed low-income, which meant they were eligible for free or reduced school lunches. This was a notable rise.

The statistics are extremely concerning: 22 of the 39 states had student poverty rates of 50% or higher, and at least 40% of public school registrants qualified for free or reduced-price lunches.

When compared to their more affluent peers, low-income students typically perform worse in school. Research has indicated a strong correlation between family income and academic success on exams with a uniform format. This could be partially due to the fact that parents with lower incomes typically cannot afford tutoring or other enrichment activities that raise success levels. Furthermore, children from low-income families are far more likely to encounter family conflict, food insecurity, and other stressors that can be detrimental to their academic performance. Because of all of this, teachers confront obstacles in the classroom that go beyond students’ motivation to learn.

8. Common Core

The Common Core State Standards is a collection of academic standards for math and language arts that describe what public school students are expected to learn by the end of each year from kindergarten through 12th grade. The standards, which were created in 2009, were intended to advance equity for public K–12 students. Every student would participate in year-end standardized assessments and be subject to the same globally benchmarked requirements. The plan was to implement a system that would level the playing field for all schools and enable regional student performance comparisons. These requirements would benefit all pupils in terms of preparing for college and the workforce.

The standards are viewed by some opponents as an unwanted federal interference into state authority over education. Some criticize the standards’ lack of experienced instructors’ input throughout their development. Many educators contend that the standards lead to rigid lesson plans that discourage experimentation and have less fun with learning.

The absence of accommodations for non-traditional learners is another point of contention for some reviewers. Every grade level has criteria set by the Common Core, except children with impairments or Due to language obstacles, learning the material fully frequently takes longer.

When the Common Core State Standards were first introduced, they were adopted by the vast majority of states. Since then, the criteria have been changed or canceled by more than a dozen states to better suit local circumstances. The standards themselves have frequently changed little yet stayed essentially the same.

A name can also have meaning. Adult Americans were questioned in the 2018 Education Next survey if they supported state-by-state uniform standards. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they did. However, only 45% of those surveyed about Common Core in particular claimed they were in favor of it.

9. Bullying

Bullying is still a significant problem in American schools nationwide. A National Center for Education Statistics study estimates that in 2019, 22% of students in Grades 6 through 12 reported experiencing bullying at school or while traveling to or from it. Although that percentage decreased from 28% in 2009, it is still much too high.

According to the same survey, more than 22% of kids said they were bullied once a day, while 6.3% said they were bullied twice or more. Furthermore, in 2019, more than 45 percent of students reported bullying to an adult.

However, this still implies that nearly 60% of students do not disclose instances of bullying. Thus, children must be in pain.

Students that are bullied encounter a variety of psychological, physical, and behavioral issues. They often experience helplessness, loneliness, anxiety, and rage. They often experience anxiety when they have to attend school, which affects their academic performance and lowers their self-esteem. Additionally, there is a higher chance that they may commit violent crimes or act suicidal.

Every state has laws against bullying, and schools are required to create anti-bullying policies. States vary, nevertheless, in their definitions of bullying and the steps they require to take in the event that bullying is reported. Furthermore, just under one-third of states require school districts to have support plans in place such as counseling for students who are victims of bullying (or are bullies themselves).

10. Using technology in the classroom

A strong trend in education technology is taking over classrooms all around the country. Since they have grown up with digital technology, today’s pupils assume it will be a part of their education. However, what part should it really play in education?

Advocates emphasize that flipped classrooms demonstrate how educational technology may include students in more active learning. It can help teams work together and give users immediate access to the most recent resources. To provide content suited to various learning styles, educators can use interactive case studies, online questionnaires, and pertinent films. In fact, assistive technology is often used by students with special needs to facilitate communication and provide access to course materials.

However, there are drawbacks as well. Technology, for example, has the potential to distract. Some pupils ignore the teachings in favor of playing games, browsing the internet, or monitoring social media. According to a study, students who used their laptops for multitasking during class performed 11% worse on an exam designed to gauge their understanding of the lecture material. 17 percent less was scored by the students who sat behind those multi-taskers. Susan Dynarski, a professor at the University of Michigan, stated that she forbids devices from being used in her classes mostly because of this research in the autumn of 2017.

Even more worrisome, technology can really be a threat to students’ security and privacy. Serious issues may arise if education technology corporations obtain sensitive student data. In 2017, an organization named Dark Overlord hacked into school district servers in several states and obtained access to students’ personal information, including counselor reports and medical records. The group used the data to threaten students and their families with physical violence.