Washington: Easier classes, less homework and lots of sports — this is how American high schools are viewed by students from other countries studying in the US
Despite a push in recent years to make the US education system more competitive and effective, foreign exchange students continue to view American high school experience as much less stimulating, according to a study published on Wednesday.
“You get this feeling — the kids from abroad come here, they spend a year, they think that school is easier here,” said Tom Loveless, a fellow with the Brown Centre on Education Policy with the Brookings Institutions. “We think we have made great strides in making our schools more challenging, here is at least one outside group that is in fact saying they are not terribly challenging.”
While the findings appear to corroborate international student assessment tests, in which American schools trail behind many developed countries, some experts disputed the methodology and the underlying principles of Loveless’ study, saying that foreign exchange students did not represent typical teenagers in their home countries and that the focus on sports wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
In the survey conducted last spring, 259 teenagers from various countries compared their experience in American schools to that in their home countries. All the students were in the US as part of the AFS Intercultural Programmes, an international youth exchange organisation.
Forty-four per cent of respondents said US students spend “much less” time on schoolwork than at their home countries, while 21 per cent thought they spend “a little less.” Asked, how difficult their classes are in the US, 66 per cent said they are “much easier” and 24 per cent said “a little easier.” The results were similar compared to a similar study Loveless conducted in 2001, but the differences were more pronounced.
Asked about the importance of sports for US students, 64 per cent of respondents said it is “much more” important to do well in sports in the US and 23 per cent said “a little more” important. By contrast, 16 per cent said the focus on math was “much less” in America and 32 per cent said it was “a little less,” while 40 per cent believed it was the same as in their home countries. Finally, 53 per cent of respondents felt it is “much less” important to US teens to study a second language and 27 per cent said it was “a little less” so.
“So the kids are saying, in terms of my peer groups in my home country, our peer culture rewards success at math more than it does in the US and it does not reward sports so much,” Loveless said.
But Jack Buckley, senior vice president for research and evaluation at American Institutes for Research, said that the methodology for Loveless’ study does not make sense.
“It’s unlikely that foreign exchange students are a particularly representative sample of their home countries,” Buckley said, adding that such students are likely more ambitious, come from wealthier families and thus attend better schools. AFS said that its one-year programme in the US can cost up to $16,000 (Dh58,766), though some students get scholarships.
Buckley also noted that American high schools can be drastically different from one another. He cited an international student achievement study called PISA which last year ranked the US 25th out of 50 participating countries, below Canada, Britain and Poland. While the average math score for the entire country was 470, the wealthiest schools scored 530, similar to Japan and Finland, while the poorest schools scored 427, on par with Chile.
“Anybody who tells you they generalise about American high schools by just looking at ratings and a few numbers is underestimating the variability in American education,” Buckley said.
Martin Carnoy, professor at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, said that while some parents abroad like their kids to concentrate solely on homework, in the American culture many parents believe that playing sports makes one a well-rounded person and teaches them important social skills such as teamwork and perseverance. Also, it makes them feel good.
“We do put more emphasis on sports, we do put more emphasis on other activities, it’s fun!” Carnoy said. “You are a teenager, have a good time, the rest of life is going to be hard. I don’t know If it’s such a condemnation of our school system. It depends what you want.”
Abdalla Fadhili Abdalla, 16, an exchange student from Kenya agreed with Loveless’ findings, saying he found his US high school to be less demanding than at home — the days are shorter, there are fewer subjects and less homework.
“School is easier here and harder in Kenya, I have a lot of homework in Kenya,” Abdalla said. At the same time, he enjoys weightlifting at his Maryland high school, saying: “I think it’s kind of good to combine sports and studies.”
