A Study Of Problems And Solutions In American Public High School

In recent yeas, new international analyses have indicated that the performance of American elementary school students looks relatively strong, the performance of American middle school students appears to be about average, and the performance of American high school students ranks near the bottom. American public high school is in trouble, which has been the central issue of the United States.Comprehensive high school is the main body of American public high school. National life and the economy are changing much faster than school. In this background, what problems are faced by American high school? This paper will describe and analyze these problems of students, teachers, school systems respectively. The lost opportunity of senior year must be considered.High school should serve as a consummation of what already has been accomplished and a launching pad for what lies ahead. The primary goal of high schools should be graduating students who are ready for the further study or the world of work. No high school senior left behind is the same ideal from every one. At present, the most representative recommendations is the "Triple-A Program" designed to (1) improve alignment, (2) raise achievement and (3) provide more (and more rigorous) alternatives. Improve alignment: It is time to move beyond separate systems, in which curriculum and assessment systems in K-12 and postsecondary education bear little relationship to each other, to a more seamless system in which standards, curriculum and assessment efforts between the two systems are aligned and integrated. In truth, what is required is a new commitment to a single system of "P-16" education. Raise achievement: Across the board, the nation needs to raise the bar of educational achievement and aspirations. Accordingly, teacher preparation and professional development should be raised to a new step. Provide more (and more rigorous) alternatives: To help senior students make continuous progress until they graduate, during this period, they should be provided more paths of study and work.At the end of the paper, the author will come back to the current high school education in China, using a comparative angle of view to analyze the similar problems in our country briefly. According to the solutions that the U.S. has carried out to solve these problems, some advice will be advanced for our high school education.