Current Status: Facts & Trends
- Jon Moore
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
**A starting look at some of the key areas around a student's educational experience.
In an effort to gain a greater understanding of how school is currently done, it seemed like a good idea to do a little research and find out what ‘going to school’ and learning looks like in different places around the country and world. For now, I’m not as interested in rankings, per se…that can definitely be a focus later on in a future post. When that happens, it will be interesting to see if there are any meaningful connections between the Experience of going to school and learning to the Outcome of that experience.
For the sake of clarity, when talking about Outcomes, the types of things being referred to are:
Graduation rates
Literacy rates
Math, reading, and science standardized scores
Percentage of graduates going on to postgraduate education
I know there are many more variables worthy of examination; and perhaps down the road those things can be analyzed.
Since the focus this week is on the Experience someone has for their school/education, I want to explore how that plays out differently, depending on where you live. *Personal note…this is, in my view, the important piece to examine, as the factors that influence one’s learning experience can have such a large impact on their educational outcomes. With that said, here are some of the variables that come to mind to dive into:
How many years a person is “in school”
The emphasis on early childhood learning
How - and to what extend - schooling/education is funded in that state/country
The emphasis on Play, especially at younger ages
To what extent things like arts, music, and physical movement are emphasized in the learning experience
Opportunities for students to explore various topics, courses, etc.
Exposure to literature and text, starting at a very young age
Length of school day, and the school calendar
Evaluation and reporting → grades, portfolios. Standards-based, etc.
Reliance on standardized testing
Opportunity for community engagement, service learning, etc.
There are no doubt many other variables to consider, and it wouldn’t be surprising if some of these ‘stones’ get turned over along the way. For now, the goal will be to find some statistics and signs of trends that can tell a story about how kids experience school and learning around the world. One way to start examining some of these facts is through a visual lens. Here are some info graphics on some of these topics:
Years in School
Early Childhood → Enrollment, Spending, Etc.
School Funding
Moving forward, it could be very interesting to take each of these areas and do some mini “deep-dives” into what we know about a child’s potential schooling experience, based on where they are born. Each of these areas seems worthy of its own examination, and I would prefer to give each area its due attention as the time presents itself.
There is so much information out there, and so many studies have been done on a lot of these topics. My goal is to look at some of this information on a local/micro level, and also on a macro/global level. In doing so, what I hope to understand on a greater level is a bit of a two-level question: what is the current reality? And what is possible? Detaching from any sort of emotional involvement will be beneficial when looking at the facts, making judgements, and creating roadmaps toward possibilities. Passion and urgency will then come into play when the time comes to make change and create new realities.
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