Many people are concerned that the United States is falling behind the rest of the world, particularly when it comes to reading and math. Compared to other countries, the United States tends to lag behind in several key areas. Even though there are exceptional private schools in the United States, and the university system remains one of the strongest in the world, K-12 education continues to be an area where the United States falls behind.
The ten states in the U.S. that rank the lowest for education are Alabama, Mississippi, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, Arizona, Louisiana, Alaska, and New Mexico. Within these states, there are particular districts that are especially struggling.
Chickasaw City Schools, which are located in Mobile County, are famous for having poor student performance. There are a lot of students in the region who face a lot of disadvantages outside of the classroom, including poverty. These stressors can have a significant impact on student performance. In 2023, the math proficiency in the district is 7% while reading proficiency is only 32%.
Poverty is a significant issue in other parts of the country as well. One example is the Osceola School District, which is located in Arkansas. More than forty percent of all students in the county live in poverty, and that makes it very difficult for students to do well in the classroom. In this district, just over nine percent of all adults have a Bachelor's degree, which can make it very difficult for children to get help at home. Because the property values are so low, there is not a lot of tax revenue funding the education system, and that is reflected in the quality of the education that children receive.
McDowell Public Schools rank near the bottom of the state’s fifty-seven school districts. Although the graduation rate has been increasing, only 87% of the student body graduates yearly. Twenty-two percent of students are proficient in math, compared to the state proficiency of 38%. Similarly, reading proficiency lags almost twenty percent behind the state average, with only 23% of students scoring as proficient in reading.