The U.S. Ranks 17th in Math, Reading and Science

OECD has published popular findings in its world rankings of education. The study assessed math, reading and science skills across the globe. Approximately 450,000 15-year olds in 65 countries participated within the study.  The report is considered relevant and offers opportunities for policy makers and school administrators to adjust their actions to improve upon educational quality. 

According to the Market Oracle the U.S. has around 3.8 million job vacancies and 11.8 million people looking for work. A study by the ManPower Group indicates that 48% of employers are struggling to fill jobs because of lack of skills. Where there is a mismatch between skills and available jobs new training and education are necessary to improve the situation. 

When looking at the report you will find that 4 of the top 5 countries are Asian while only 1 is from Europe. When you look at the top 10 you will find European countries predominate between the 5^th-10^th ranking.  You might also be shocked that the U.S. is about 17^th on its total ranking. 

It should be no wonder that emerging Asian countries have matched their education to their actual job skills the market needs. They focus more on the elemental aspects of reading, writing, and science in earlier education and then become increasingly complex in later classes. Likewise, soft skills such as teamwork and communication are not ignored. 

Education starts in the home and then moves into public school and finally through college. Some lucky students make their way into graduate and doctoral programs. Some might wonder if there is a need for families to develop the right skills in young students and encourage additional structure in their lives. Without a proper perspective students often move through and finish high school further behind the global and local market needs.

International Rankings 

NMH Horizon Project Report Discusses Future Trends of Education and Technology

The NMC Horizon Project is a decade long review to determine how emerging technologies will impact education.  There are six technologies that will continue to influence higher education in the near and long-term future. These technologies will continue to pressure the overall nature and strategic approaches colleges adapt in creating more financially viable organizations.  The projections are broken into near term, mid term, and far term horizons. 

Near Term Horizon (12 Months):

MOOCs and tablets are likely to make inroads into higher education. MOOCs offer non-degree seeking students certificates are often offered for free. It is likely in the future, even though the report doesn’t mention this colleges may charge for such classes. The second near term influence of technology will be the use of tablets that offer portability and computing power at a price most students can afford.

Mid Term Horizon (2-3 Years):

Gamification and student assessment appear to be the growing trends. Games and badges are designed to help students play games while having to use content and information to move through one level to the next. Student assessment measures will be refined to provide a stronger analytic method of student and organizational performance. 

Far Term Horizon (5+ Years):

3D printing and wearable technology are likely to make their way into the classrooms. 3D printing is already in some engineering and arts related classes and affords an alternative approach to making images and designs. Wearable technology will focus more on augmenting reality and highlighting key lessons. This affords students the ability to envision alternative environments and set-ups.

In addition to the trends in technology are trends in general educational levels which include a push for professors to adapt technology for greater completion of research as well as for student learning. Customizable learning experiences are likely to become more common that will help to connect with students on a deeper level than face-to-face discussions. Administrators will likely become savvier at student assessment and evaluation. 

Based upon the importance the following trends are likely:

1.  Openness — concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions of transparency and easy access to data and information — is becoming a value.

2. Massively open online courses are being widely explored as alternatives and supplements to traditional university courses.

3. The workforce demands skills from college graduates that are more often acquired from informal learning experiences than in universities.

4. There is an increasing interest in using new sources of data for personalizing the learning experience and for performance measurement.

5. The role of educators continues to change due to the vast resources that are accessible to students via the Internet.

6. Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning, and collaborative models.

You may obtain your own report HERE