The way we evaluate whether a student receives "a proper education" continues to evolve. While students have more ways to receive an education, especially through online learning, education leaders everywhere are now asking different, more pointed questions about the state of education and how to make it more effective. Namely, is the student's interest level at school -- how "engaged" he or she is -- as important, or even more important, than grades and standardized test scores? How accountable should teachers be for their own performance? Currently the U.S. is involved in a debate over "Common Core," a set of academic standards that students will need to know by the end of a given school year. Are these standards helpful or a hindrance to a student receiving a quality education?
This week, Gallup.com will reveal data and insights that will help answer these questions in "The State of Education" series.
The topics we will be covering in this series include:
- Americans' views of higher education and whether it needs to change (Monday)
- Americans' confidence in online institutions (Tuesday)
- Perceptions of the quality of public education in grades K through 12, by state (Wednesday)
- Statewide perceptions of U.S. public schools' ability to prepare students for success in the workplace (Wednesday)
- How the education level of a parent plays a major role in their child's education in sub-Saharan Africa (Wednesday)
- Whether teachers in one's local area are respected or not, by state (Thursday)
- Students' opinions on how ready for workplace success they are (Friday, in Gallup Business Journal)
- Whether the "Common Core" -- requiring U.S. schools to adopt the same curriculum -- is effective (Friday)