MSC 65th Student Conference on National Affairs
Texas A&M University
Delegate Research Information
Round Table
Full Brains and Empty Pockets: Challenges of Higher Education
Facilitator: Dr. Christine Blackburn
------This delegate research information is not intended to be a comprehensive assessment of your assigned round table topic, but rather a starting point to help launch your own personal investigations into the various associated issues. It is encouraged, if not expected, that your policy proposals will be inclusive of aspects pertaining to your round table topic that are not covered in this research compilation. You, your facilitator, your round table host, and your fellow roundtable delegates are all responsible for crafting a policy proposal that takes this into consideration.
Terms & Actors Terms Common Core- an educational initiative that outlines concepts in Mathematics and English that students in grades K-12 should know. Direct Student Loan- government-funded student loans made to the U.S. Department of Education; the Federal Direct Student Loan Program is the only government-backed loan program in the United States. Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)- a federal law passed in 1965 that provides federal funds to improve local schools via resources to educational programs, professional development, and instruction materials. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)- replaced No Child Left Behind, the Act continues statewide standardized testing but gave accountability provisions to the states. Financial Aid Package- federal or non-federal aid provided to a student. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)- a form completed by high school and college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for financial aid. i3 Fund- Investing in Innovation Fund, provides federal grants to applicants who can improve student achievement in various ways. Montgomery G.I. Bill- a federal law providing benefits to military veterans, including dedicated payments for tuition for college or vocational school. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)- the “nation’s report card,” a representative and continuous assessment of U.S. students’ knowledge in various subject areas. No Child Left Behind (NCLB)- an act of Congress that required all public schools to administer standardized tests annually to students to determine their skills in basic topics. Race to the Top- discretionary/competitive grants that incentivize states to reform by adopting new standards and assessments, creating systems to measure student growth and success, and recruiting, developing, and maintaining good school faculty. School-to-Prison Pipeline- a national trend that sees students, especially disadvantaged students, leave high school and end up in juvenile and criminal justice systems. Student Loan- a type of financial assistance offered to students to pay for school related fees such as tuition, books, and/or living expenses. Student Loan Bubble- debt accrued from student loans and student loan interest. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)- a study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) that compares educational systems from around the world to help countries design effective policy.
Actors Betsy Devos- the current United States Secretary of Education. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation- a private foundation that emphasized (among other things) education, especially K-12 education. Congressional Budget Office- a nonpartisan federal agency within the legislative branch that determines the interest rate on student loans. Federal Student Aid Office- an office in the United States Department of Education, and the largest provider of student aid in the country through grants, loans, and work study funds. Finland- this country has consistently high education standards and ranks highly in teacher-to- student ratio and the number of students passing primary and secondary schools. Japan- this country’s students had the second highest PISA scores in 2015, and has one of the world’s most literate populations. PISA- Program for International Student Assessment, a world-wide study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that tests 15-year-old students in reading, math, and science literacy. Rep. Bobby Scott- D-VA, Democratic chairman of the U.S. House education committee. Sal Khan- Founder of Khan Academy, a free online educational resource that enables students to learn material at their own pace and encourages mastery of topics before moving on. Senator Bernie Sanders- I-VT, Minority member of U.S. Senate education committee. Senator Lamar Alexander- R-TN, Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate education committee. United States Department of Education- Cabinet level department of the United States government whose main goal is to “to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access” by “establishing policy for, administering and coordinating most federal assistance to education, collecting data on US schools, and enforcing federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights.” Analysis Overview
The American education system was once considered the best in the world. As recently as 30 years ago, the United States had the best high school and college education.1 This was largely due to the Montgomery G.I. Bill, which helped returning World War II veterans pay for school. Now, however, other countries have caught up and have even surpassed the United
States.
Different surveys tell different stories. When only considering 3 factors (does the country have well-developed public education system, would students consider attending university there, and does the country provide top quality education), the United States ranks number 2 in the world.2 This ranking is in stark contrast to other surveys that consider other data. World Top
20 Project put out their third quarter rankings for the world’s top 20 education nations; they examine enrollment rates, lower level completion rates, graduation rates, and test scores. The
United States ranked seventeenth in the world under these criteria.3 The Center on International
Education Benchmarking created their own ranking based on the 2015 PISA and demographics of the students taking it, and the United States did not crack the top 12.4
The differing results tell of a problem between ideas (well-developed education system, providing top quality education) and implementation (American students ranked 25th on the 2015
PISA). Arne Duncan, the former Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, argued that one problem is that Americans do not value teaching as much as they should. “We don't train teachers as professionals, we don't respect them as professionals, we don't compensate them
1 John Guttman, “Was the USA ever No. 1 in education?” History Net, at https://www.historynet.com/was-the-usa- ever-no-1-in-education.htm 2 “Best Countries for Education,” U.S. News, 2019, at https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-education 3 “2019 World Best Education Systems – 3rd Quarter Rankings,” World Top 20 Project, 2019, at https://worldtop20.org/worldbesteducationsystem 4 “PISA 2015- Results in Focus,” Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2015 at https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf as professionals,” Duncan stated. In a country where classrooms are extremely diverse in every possible way, teachers are under an enormous burden. As a result, memorization rather than critical thinking is taught, and students are worse for it.5
Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, advocated for mastery-based learning. The problem with schools today, he said, is that classes move from topic to topic without the students ever gaining full mastery of the concepts. Students become discouraged when they hit roadblocks and view their failures as a sign that they are not good enough or smart enough, when really the issue is that their foundation is not solid. Today’s technology is advanced enough that students can learn at their own pace, and do not have to move to more difficult concepts until they master the basic ones. Benefits Khan mentioned include student interaction and Socratic dialogue.6
While American primary schools have issues that must be addressed, American colleges and universities also pose issues. This decade has seen more people attending college than ever before, and American universities are among the most expensive in the world. Around 68% of people who graduated college in 2015 have student debt.7 In the United States, 45 million people owe around $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. Student loan debt is now higher than credit card and auto loan debt, and is the second highest consumer debt category (mortgage debt is the first).
Some have raised concerns that the student loan bubble might pop; others say the bubble won’t pop but has and will continue to drag the U.S. economy down.8
5 Gabrielle Levy, “Rethinking Education in America,” U.S. News, July 27, 2018, at https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-07-27/americas-schools-arent-working-for-americas-kids 6 Sal Khan, “Let’s Teach For Mastery- Not Test Scores,” TED Talk, uploaded September 26, 2016, at https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores/transcript?language=en 7 Zack Friedman, “Student Loan Debt Statistics In 2019: A $1.5 Trillion Crisis,” Forbes, February 25, 2019, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/02/25/student-loan-debt-statistics-2019/#6bddee42133f 8 Robert Farrington, “Why The Student Loan Bubble Won't Burst,” Forbes, December 12, 2018, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertfarrington/2018/12/12/student-loan-bubble-wont-burst/#3dee19e26768 Perhaps the most well-known idea to solve student debt is Democratic candidate Bernie
Sanders’ (I-VT) “free college” plan. Senator Sanders’ “College for All” Act proposes eliminating undergraduate tuition at 4-year public colleges and universities. The act would eliminate undergraduate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities by providing $47 billion per year to states. It would also reform student loans by restoring the formula that was in effect until 2006, and the legislation ensures rates never rise above 8.25%. This act would be paid for by imposing a Robin Hood tax on Wall Street. However, one concern regards international students; according to the Association of International Educators, international undergraduate students contributed almost $16 billion and 184,000 jobs to the American economy in one year. Making them pay much more in tuition would harm the American economy. The alternative is giving them free tuition as well, which American taxpayers would not support.
Germany, often looked to by policymakers as an example of a nation offering free college tuition without crippling national debt, is not perfect. The low costs for running
Germany’s universities means larger classes (upwards of 1,000 students), overworked faculty, dingy and old buildings, and a lesser sense of community.9 In addition, Germany’s universities are not ranked high in worldwide surveys. If the United States were to implement policies like this, they would risk cutting off international students and lessening the quality of education.10
U.S. students with federal student loans are given 10 years to pay back their loans once they graduate from college. In reality, however, it takes much longer than that to pay back
9 Michael Birnbaum, “Bernie Sanders and other Democrats are embracing free college. Europe shows it can be done, but there’s a cost,” The New York Times, June 26, 2019, at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/bernie-sanders-and-other-democrats-are-embracing-free-college- europe-shows-theres-a-cost/2019/06/25/2939047c-8bc4-11e9-b6f4-033356502dce_story.html 10 Neal McCluskey and Catherine Straus, “Elizabeth Warren's and Bernie Sanders' 'free' college idea would be a disaster for international students,” Business Insider, October 20, 2019 at https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-bernie-sanders-free-college-idea-bad-foreign-students-2019-10 thousands of dollars owed. Another solution to the financial debt crisis is to increase the time people are given to pay back student debt. Germany gives students 20 years to pay back loans, and England gives students 30 years. Having a longer time to pay off debt allows students to get their feet under them before paying off their debt.11
The American education system has obvious faults from primary school to secondary education. American children are ranked in the middle of the developed world when it comes to academic performance. Many Americans have student debt they will be paying off for years.
Should America focus on primary or secondary education? Would America be better off following the model of other countries, or should policymakers continue to reform our current education policy?
11 Susan Dynarski, “America Can Fix Its Student Loan Crisis. Just Ask Australia,” The New York Times, July 9, 2016, at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/upshot/america-can-fix-its-student-loan-crisis-just-ask-australia.html Additional Resources Media Links: ● “It's About to Get Uncomfortable: Education in America” ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPAXMNXy5UQ ○ Educator Matt Beaudreau advocates for “radical collaboration” in public schools today. He wants students to work together in schools in democratic ways to change up the way kids learn. ● “Toxic Culture of Education” ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnC6IABJXOI ○ Educator Joshua Katz points to poverty levels as a reason why there is such disparity between learning levels of students. The “toxic culture of education,” Katz states, is when schools advocate college above all else. ● “Student Loan Forgiveness: Can The US Erase Student Debt?” ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DCLRrraR-A ○ This video breaks down the student debt in America. Because the government holds 92% of the debt, this video examines what it would look like to have the government erase student debt. News Articles: ● “Sen. Bernie Sanders Pushes Free College and Student Debt Forgiveness and Finds the Field Crowded” ○ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-bernie-sanders-pushes-free-college- and-student-debt-forgiveness--and-finds-the-field-crowded/2019/08/24/052b91da- c607-11e9-850e-c0eef81a5224_story.html ○ Several Democrat presidential candidates have proposed free college in their campaigns, but they differ on how they would implement this policy. ● “How Are America’s Public Schools Doing?” ○ https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/15/how-are-americas- public-schools-really-doing/ ○ American confidence in public schools has decreased, but the overall quality of national public schools has not changed. This article argues that Americans’ moral poverty is the cause of this downfall. ● “The American Education System is Broken” ○ https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-american-education-system-is-broken- 4-30-263fbca64837 ○ This article states that the problem with American schools is their obsession with grades and tests, not mastery of topics. Instead of focusing on test scores, children in schools should focus on truly learning the material taught. ● “Are The PISA Education Results Rigged?” ○ https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/01/04/are-the-pisa-education-results- rigged/#3c73c6871561 ○ The Program for International Assessment (PISA) might be using unfair data to determine which countries lead the world in education. Some countries select which part of their nation will represent them.
Scholarly Articles: ● “Top Performing Countries” ○ http://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top- performing-countries/ ○ The National Center on Education and the Economy released a list of the top countries in the world for education based on the 2015 PISA. ● “What Will It Take to Solve the Student Loan Crisis? ○ https://hbr.org/2019/09/what-will-it-take-to-solve-the-student-loan-crisis ○ Harvard Business Review describes and walks through some solutions to the American student debt issue. ● “Fact-Check: Bernie Sanders Promises Free College. Will It Work?” ○ https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/17/466730455/fact-check-bernie- sanders-promises-free-college-will-it-work ○ Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders has made free college a foundation of both his presidential candidate campaigns. National Public Radio investigates whether this is a possibility or not. Official Government Sources: ● “Progress in Our Schools” ○ https://www.ed.gov/k-12reforms ○ The United States Department of Education has many goals to make the United States first in the world in regards to education. The article has multiple links that elaborate on the reforms. ● “Assessments” ○ https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/assessments/ ○ The National Center for Education Statistics releases assessment scores for a variety of subjects in both public and private schools. This page has multiple links that elaborate on the results. ● “The Cost of Non-Completion: Improving Student Outcomes in Higher Education” ○ https://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/the-cost-of-non-completion-improving- student-outcomes-in-higher-education_ ○ This hearing from the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee of the congressional Education and Labor committee emphasizes the importance of affordable higher education. This page has multiple lings that elaborate on the hearing.