100 representative American Kids entering high school. What does fate have in store for them . 25 out of that 100 wont graduate from high school. A total of 50 wont go to college. Thats half the class that wont go on to higher education. 50 will attend college, but only 22 will graduate within six years. Meanwhi meanwhile, other countries are outstarting us. On a recent international test, u. S. Students ranked only 15th in the world in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math. Overall, the World Economic forum ranks the quality of our education at 26th. Whats odd is that weve been outspending most developed countries by a long shot. In 2007, we spent over 10,000 per student versus the 7,400 average for rich countries. How can we spend so much money and have so little to show for it . Well ask that question and others to some of the leading figures in American Education here on this special essay. Well examine the role of teachers, testing ands technology. And we ask the man who spent
more years in the classroom than their american counterparts. after classes let up, sung-do studies for hours in a school cubicle and takes his dinner in a school cafeteria. he ll sometimes go to a late night cram school known in korea as a hagwon, nocturnal schools for kids offering classes in science, math or any other subject that s covered on the big college exam. after-school instruction is very popular here, enrolling three-quarters of the nation s students. the average korean family spends roughly 20% of their income on private tutoring. back home, sung-do usually continues his studies well after midnight. it s true that study hours is horrible. i might enjoy the pain i cannot avoid. i m trying my best to enjoy this environment and this age.
after classes let up, sung-do studies for hours in a school cubicle and takes his dinner in a school cafeteria. he ll sometimes go to a late night cram school known in korea as a hagwon, nocturnal schools for kids offering classes in science, math or any other subject that s covered on the big college exam. after-school instruction is very popular here, enrolling three-quarters of the nation s students. the average korean family spends roughly 20% of their income on private tutoring. back home, sung-do usually continues his studies well after midnight. it s true that study hours is horrible. i might enjoy the pain i cannot avoid. i m trying my best to enjoy this environment and this age. the korean education system is at the heart of an extraordinary economic success story.
in 2007 we spent over $10,000 per student. versus the $7,400 average for rich countries. how can we spend so much money and have so little to show for it? we ll ask that question and others to some of the leading figures in american education. here on this special and in a time essay. we ll examine the roll of teachers, testing and technology and we ll ask the man who spend billions of dollars trying to fix education about how he s spending his money, microsoft founder and philanthropist, bill gates. first, there are two nations whose students consistently rank on top of the world. south korea and finland. what is their secret? we ll take you there and show you how they get their impressive results with completely opposite approaches. let s get started. welcome to seoul, south california korea. there are many reasons to be impressed with this. ancient tiger that rose from the ashes of the civil war. but south korea s crown jewel is its education system. thanks to a militant
a country. indeed our democracy depends on an educated citizenry. let s take a look. 100 american kids entering high school, what does fate have in store for them? 25 out of that hundred won t graduate from high school, a total of 50 won t go to college. that s half the class that won t go on to higher education. 50 will attends college, but only 22 will graduate within six years. meanwhile other countries are outsmarting us. on a recent international test, u.s. students ranked only 15th in the world in reading, 15 in science and 31st in math. what s odd is that we have been outstanding most developed countries by a long shot. in 2007, we spent over 10,000 per student versus the $7,400 average for rich countries. highway can we spend so much money and have so little to show for it. we ll have a special ending of time essay, we ll examine the roles of teachers, testing and testing. and we ll ask the man who spent millions of dollars trying to fix education about how he s spend