The article found in the Economic rubric of the New York Times was posted by Patricia Cohen. The article is called “Closing Education Gap Will Lift Economy, a Study Finds” explores the current position of the United States on the world arena in reference to the level and quality of education on the national level.
The author of the article provides research-based information concerning the contemporary level of education in the United States and explains the interdependence between the level of education and literacy of the population and the economical development of the country. The calculations provided in the article point out that the United States currently ranks twenty fourth in the list of thirty three of highly developed industrialized countries of the world according to the average education level of the nation (Cohen par. 3).
The researches established that if the country took some effort and managed do move at least five positions up, this could result in the addition of 1.7 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (Cohen par. 4). Consequently, 1.7 per cent addition to the current gross domestic product comprises approximately nine hundred million dollars of government revenue and would be a massive leap forward for the country.
The author also emphasizes that if only the United States reached the position on the education level scale Canada occupies today, its gross domestic product would increase by 7.6 per cent, which represents ten trillion dollars revenue addition by 2050 (Cohen par. 5).
Canada ranks seventh is the list, which makes its position impossible to reach for the United States, yet this comparison has been made to demonstrate that a neighboring country with a very similar lifestyle and culture could make it, so the achievement can barely be considered extraordinary.
The article also elaborates on the connections of the current socio-economic tendencies and their connections with the level of education in the country. The average income of middle class families that has been growing for the previous generations now is rapidly decreasing.
As a result, the size of the American middle class is shrinking because more and more citizens lose funds and stop qualifying as middle class representatives. This tendency is shown in contrast with the tendency of previous years when the cause of the shrinking middle class was exactly the opposite – more and more individuals were gaining profits and becoming upper class representatives.
Over the last several years a number of researches have been focused on the determination of the conditions that have to be improved in order to raise the national level of education in the United States. The education professionals and politicians responsible for the education reforms are aware that preschool and early childhood education should be one of the primary focuses.
Education studies have already suggested a variety of techniques and ways to provide better approach to the modern learners of all ages. This way, sound and strong basis has been created for the further improvement; and now the government only needs to put the reforms into practice.
The United States of America has been known as one of the least educated nations among the industrialized and highly developed countries of the world. The article by Cohen does not only suggest to change this tendency, but also provides quantitative data that is meant to stimulate the modern American leaders and inspire them to address the issue quickly and thoroughly.
Works Cited
Cohen, Patricia. Closing Education Gap Will Lift Economy, a Study Finds. 2015. Web.