US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country report

Fewer Americans are going to preschool and college compared to other nations

by Jill Barshay, November 24, 2015

The United States continues to fall behind internationally in producing a college-educated workforce as other nations send more of their citizens to university. And in the very early years, many countries are now sending a much higher percentage of their kids to preschool than the United States.

“The U.S. hasn’t backslid, but other countries have made big gains,” said OECD Education Director Andreas Schleicher, in a pre-publication briefing with journalists.

In the past, the U.S. ranked second in the world in the percentage of adults with some sort of college education, ranging from a post-high-school vocational degree to a Ph.D. Today, the U.S. has slipped to fifth position.

In several countries, nearly 60 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds have a college education. Korea tops the list, with nearly 70 percent of this age group earning a college degree, a huge increase from their older generation of 55- to 64-year-olds, among whom fewer than 20 percent have a college education.

In the United States, by contrast, only 46 percent of the younger generation has a college education, not significantly more than the 41 percent of the American older generation who went to university.

Because of gains in other countries, Schleicher said it would be “hard” for the U.S. to attain its goal to become the nation with the highest proportion of 25- to 34-year-old university graduates by 2020.

Schleicher said some nations are making these “impressive” gains in college education without blowing up government budgets. For example, Australia has expanded use of student loans, which students pay back as a percentage of their salary after graduation.

Other countries spend more, with direct subsidies or by keeping tuition free or very low. Even with huge government outlays, Schleicher says that college education remains a cost-effective investment for governments because college educated students continue to secure higher paying jobs after college and eventually pay higher taxes.

In other words, the global rise in college-educated students hasn’t yet produced a glut of college-educated workers. “Demand is rising faster than supply,” said Schleicher. “Employers are still willing to pay the college-educated higher wages”

Presidential candidates have discussed similar plans for the American higher ed system, but adopting some of these policies might prove trickier in the United States. Schleicher said that student loan schemes need an “intelligent regulatory system” where university tuition and fees are capped, which the United States federal government doesn’t do.

Meanwhile, foreign students appear to be choosing U.S. universities less often to study abroad. In 2000, almost a quarter of international students who left their home countries for college came to American institutions. That’s dropped to 19 percent in the most recent report. It’s not that fewer foreign students are coming to the U.S. each year. But there are more and more of them, especially from Asia, and a greater share of them are choosing to study in the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia and Japan.

On the early childhood front, the United States has one of the lowest enrollment rates among OECD countries, where, on average, more than 70 percent of young children attend preschool. That’s up sharply from an average of 40 to 50 percent a decade ago.

But in the United States, only 41 percent of 3-year-olds and 66 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschools. “It’s an area where the U.S. trails quite a bit behind,” said Schleicher.

Schleicher added that he’s seeing proof that early childhood education makes a difference. He’s said that kids who attended early childhood programs tend to score higher on the Program for International Student Assessment, which assess 15-year-olds around the world in reading, math and other subjects. Even between two children from families of similar income levels, Schleicher explained, the one who attended preschool tended to post higher academic outcomes in high school.

The report had a bit of good news that may surprise many Americans. For the first time the OECD compiled data on how much students are tested in various countries. Despite popular impression that U.S. school children are tested too much, Schleicher said many countries give their students even more tests.

“The U.S. is not a country of heavy testing,” said Schleicher.

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

Bilingual skills enhance stroke recovery

Stroke patients are more likely to regain their cognitive functions if they speak more than one language, new research has found.

A study of 600 stroke victims found 40.5% who were multilingual had normal mental functions afterwards, compared to 19.6% who only speak one language.

The Edinburgh University study took into account smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and age.

It worked with the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in India.

Cognitive impairment

The study was conducted in Hyderabad because its multi-cultural nature means many languages are commonly spoken.

The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, found “results support the notion of a protective role of bilingualism in the development of post-stroke cognitive impairment”.

It is the first time a study has been done looking at the relationship between the number of languages spoken and a patient’s cognitive outcome after stroke.

The paper said: “The percentage of patients with intact cognitive functions post-stroke was more than twice as high in bilinguals than in monolinguals.

“In contrast, patients with cognitive impairment were more common in monolinguals.”

Researchers believe the study, which was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, suggests the mental challenge of speaking multiple languages can boost cognitive reserve – an improved ability of the brain to cope with damaging influences such as stroke or dementia.

Co-author Thomas Bak, of the University of Edinburgh’s school of philosophy, psychology and language sciences, said: “Bilingualism makes people switch from one language to another, so while they inhibit one language, they have to activate another to communicate.

“This switching offers practically constant brain training which may be a factor in helping stroke patients recover.”

Many European kids learn two foreign languages by age 9. Most Americans? Zero.

Maybe it is time to put to rest the stereotype of the Frenchman refusing to speak English.

In fact, the statistics point in the opposite direction. According to The Pew Research Center, almost every country in Europe requires students as young as six to learn a foreign language, usually English. Even more impressive, over 20 European countries (including France) require students to learn two foreign languages in school for at least one school year.

In 2010, over 90% of secondary school and 73% of primary school students in Europe were learning English in the classroom, according to Pew’s analysis of Eurostat data.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the US does not have any national requirement for learning a second language. While most high schools offer foreign language classes, a mere 15% of American elementary schools do the same. And in 2008 only 18.5% of American elementary and secondary students reported learning a foreign language, according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

The disparity may be due to the fact that English has cemented its role as the language of the global economy in the 21st century. It does not come as a surprise, then, that the only two countries in Europe to not mandate foreign language classes are Ireland and Scotland, where the first language is also English.

Marty Abbott, the executive director of the ACTFL, gives another reason for the language disparity. “When you look at Europe, they are geographically closer to each other, and now with the European Union it is beneficial for those in Europe to know other languages because of the employability within the European Union,” Abbott tells Quartz.

English speakers may soon find themselves wishing they had learned another language, Abbott, who speaks Spanish and was once a Latin teacher, says. “We know that it is a fundamentally different world now and it’s time for Americans to wake up because English is not necessarily the lingua franca when you leave the US,” she says.

In any case, the benefits of learning a foreign language extend beyond just being able to speak up in an international business meeting. Being bilingual comes with a whole host of cognitive gains. Researchers have found that bilingual people perform better on standardized tests, for example, and are more perceptive of their environment, helping them differentiate between trivial and significant details.

And, Abbott says, “of course, there is the level of personal satisfaction” gained from being able to “establish relationships with people who speak that language.”

Written by Gabriel Fischer for Quartz, July 14, 2015

source : http://qz.com/453297/many-european-kids-learn-two-foreign-languages-by-age-9-most-americans-zero/

Private schools achieve greater A-level success

Pupils from fee-paying schools achieve almost 30 per cent of all A* grades despite forming just 13.6 per cent of all A-level entries raising questions over the education opportunities on offer to the vast majority of children.

By Patrick Sawer and Edward Malnick

7:30AM GMT 25 Jan 2015

Private school pupils are continuing to outshine their state sector counterparts by a wide margin when it comes to A-level results, new figures show.

Despite forming just 13.6 per cent of all A-level entries, pupils from fee-paying schools achieve nearly 30 per cent of all A* grades, raising questions over the education opportunities on offer to the vast majority of children.

A new analysis based on figures released by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) also shows that nearly half (48.2 per cent) of private school pupils achieve an A* or A grade, while just 22.5 per cent of A-level entries made from other exam centres – usually schools – achieve an A* or A grade.

The figures show a disturbingly wide gap between the results achieved by independent and state school pupils.

Tracy Cook, of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which carried out the study, said: “The surprise is how big the gap is between independent and state sector pupils’ results.

“It is indicative of the significant added value provided by independent schools, due to factors such as intensive, focused teaching and smaller class sizes.”

The study found that the performance of independent school pupils is particularly strong in sciences, maths and modern foreign languages, where they score high proportions of the top A* grade, compared with the percentage of pupils taking these exams.

These are key subjects that are deemed strategically important to our economic future, but which are less popular with pupils and attract fewer students.

The gulf between private and state sector results was particularly stark in the sciences. In physics A-level, independent schools supply 18.3 per cent of all candidates, yet because of the strength of their performance they account for 34.0 per cent of the A* grades awarded in the subject and make up 28.5 per cent of all entries in physics that achieve an A grade or higher.

In biology, independent schools supply just over 14 per cent of all candidates for

A-level, but account for 28.7 per cent of the A* grades. Private school pupils also account for 24.1 per cent of all entries in biology that achieve an A grade or higher.

And in chemistry, independent schools supply 16.6 per cent of all candidates for A-level, but account for more than 31 per cent of A* grades awarded. They account for 26.6 per cent of all entries in chemistry that achieve an A grade or higher.

Supporters of state education said the gap in performance was a reflection of the superior resources fee paying schools are able to draw on, rather than the abilities of their pupils. Christine Blower, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “The OECD recognises that once socio-economic factors have been accounted for, private schools do not perform any better than state schools.

“The NUT has long argued for the advantages that the independent sector enjoys, such as smaller class sizes. It is a fact that state sector pupils outperform privately-educated pupils with the same A levels at university.”

According to a report by Oxford Economics consultancy group last year, the higher academic attainment of pupils at independent schools contributes an estimated £1.3 billion per year to the UK’s GDP, once those pupils enter the job market.

Prof Sir Michael Sterling, a former chairman of the Russell Group of leading universities, said: “Independent schools offer a rigorous and thorough academic education, based on an expectation of high standards, exceptional levels of teaching and support and an encouragement of pupils’ hard work and dedication.”

This article has been taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11367877/Private-schools-achieve-greater-A-level-success.html

Millions of world’s children still lack access to education

Despite progress toward the international community’s goal of universal primary education by 2015, millions of children are still without schools around the world, according to a recent report.

Fixing the Broken Promise of Education for All, released last month by UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, found that 58 million children between the ages of 6 and 11 still lack access to education, while 63 million lower secondary school-age adolescents are also out of school.

Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the highest numbers of out-of-school children. As of 2012, 32.7 million primary school-age children and 22 million lower secondary school-age adolescents lack access to education in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Asia, 9.9 million primary school-age children and 26.3 adolescents remain out of school.

The report also found that nearly one-third of out-of-school children of lower secondary school age live in conflict-affected countries. Only 65% of children in conflict-affected nations reach the final grade of primary school, in contrast to 86% across other developing countries.

UNICEF and UNESCO urge the global community to adopt policies that aim to break five key barriers: conflict, gender discrimination, child labor, language challenges and barriers linked to disabilities.

The following chart, created by statistics portal Statista, shows how the numbers of the world’s out-of-school children have improved since 2000, and how far we have to go.

Year: 2015

US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country report

Fewer Americans are going to preschool and college compared to other nations

Bilingual skills enhance stroke recovery

Cognitive impairment

Many European kids learn two foreign languages by age 9. Most Americans? Zero.

Private schools achieve greater A-level success

Pupils from fee-paying schools achieve almost 30 per cent of all A* grades despite forming just 13.6 per cent of all A-level entries raising questions over the education opportunities on offer to the vast majority of children.

Millions of world’s children still lack access to education

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