The United States has long been a leading nation when it comes to what country has the best education. With good public schools, colleges and universities and a well-developed personal and financial economy, it should come as no surprise that we are one of the better-developed countries in the world when it comes to education. However, this does not mean that all is well when it comes to educating our children. In fact, there are many problems with the U.S. when it comes to education, and there are many reasons why our educational system does not live up to the standards we expect.
One of the most common arguments that is often made against the United States when it comes to what country has the best education is that they spend less than other countries on education. It is true that the United States has some of the lowest taxes on education internationally. But if you take a look at how other countries approach education, what you find is that their system is more expensive than ours. And indeed, other developed countries, those that rank high on the index for educational quality, such as Japan, Korea, and Finland, spend far more on their education systems than does the United States. Other countries also have high rates of student violence and teen pregnancy.
Another argument often made against the United States when it comes to what country has the best education is that our teachers are unqualified. While there are certainly some teachers in the United States who have not received proper training, overall, our teaching standards are among the highest in the world. We do have a lot of substandard teachers, but as a whole, our students perform above average in math, science, reading, and other subjects. When it comes to the quality of students that we send to school, we do far better than any other country.
Another argument often made against the United States is that we spend less money on education than other developed countries. While it is true that our per-pupil spending is lower than many other countries, the money that is spent on education is invested back into the economy. That means not only more income for workers in higher wages; it also means more income for businesses that create new jobs. As unemployment drops and companies return to a higher level of production, the money that was previously going to businesses will start flowing into the economy again.
Some also argue that we are a rich country, that our culture should be more like that of Canada or Australia. The question then is, what country has the best education for its citizens? These arguments are usually followed by a call for more testing, higher standards, and more government intervention. All of which sound good, except for the fact that none of these actually work.
No one has been able to find a concrete reason that Canada has a better quality of education. For one thing, the testing levels are extremely high in this country. In addition, there are very few universities in Canada that are internationally recognized. If a student wants to attain an International Baccalaureate Degree, he or she will need to relocate to Canada or another jurisdiction with high test scores.
Further, there is no real way to track international learning outside of the classroom. International college credit is awarded based on whether students live in Canada or their home country. There is no guarantee that someone studying in Canada will receive an award in any other jurisdiction.
All of these arguments boil down to one single question; does Canada have the best education system in the world? The answer is yes. However, the question does not have a definite answer. Education is an ongoing process. No one can give you a definitive answer for what country has the best education because every country has its ups and downs and different experiences for students and teachers alike.