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Charter Schools
Herbst (2006) explains the charter-school movement was born in 1990. Charter
schools have spread rapidly in the United States, based on the promise to create
less bureaucratic schools that vest "management authority in a group of
community members, parents, teachers, and students" to allow for the "expression
of diverse teaching philosophies and cultural and social life styles" (Herbst p.
107). Herbst ultimately maintains that charter schools have produced mixed
results. Recent studies confirm that charter-school students do not out-perform
their public-school counterparts. Herbst concludes that federal intervention in
public and private education has only increased since the 1990s. The federal
government's involvement culminated in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
which extends federal oversight of state schools and grants parents the choice
of removing their children from persistently failing schools.
Control
There is some debate about where control for education actually lies. Education
is not mentioned in the constitution of the United States. In the current
situation, the state and national governments have a power-sharing arrangement,
with the states exercising most of the control. Like other arrangements between
the two, the federal government uses the threat of decreased funding to enforce
laws pertaining to education. Furthermore, within each state there are different
types of control. Some states have a statewide school system, while others
delegate power to county, city or township-level school boards. However, under
the Bush administration, initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act have
attempted to assert more central control in a heavily decentralized system.
The U.S. federal government exercises its control through the U.S. Department of
Education. School accreditation decisions are made by voluntary regional
associations. Schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia teach in
English, while schools in the territory of Puerto Rico teach in Spanish.
Nonprofit private schools are widespread, are largely independent of the
government, and include secular as well as parochial schools.
Competitiveness
The national results in international comparisons have often been below the
average of developed countries. In OECD's Programme for International Student
Assessment 2003, 15 year olds ranked 24th of 38 in mathematics, 19th of 38 in
science, 12th of 38 in reading, and 26th of 38 in problem solving. In addition,
many business leaders have expressed concerns that the quality of education
given in the US system is generally below acceptable standards, and should be
adapted in order to conform to the needs of an evolving world. Bill Gates has
famously stated that the American high school is "obsolete".
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