HUFFINGTONPOST.COM - If there was ever a movie to make you laugh to keep from crying, it's this one.
Austin, an intrepid young student-reporter, embarks on the noble
mission of answering the question, "How much basic knowledge do American
high school students really have?" The answer, however, may not be
exactly what you want to hear.
"Do you know the vice president of The United States?" Austin asks.
"I don't know who it it's, it's, it's somebody....Bin Ladin," one student responds.
The video continues in similar fashion, asking everything from, "In
what war did America gain independence?" (which no one answered
correctly without a hint) to "What countries border America?"
Comedy aside, the United State's poor international rankings in
subject proficiencies such as math is a problem that could cost the
country around $75 trillion over 80 years, according to a study called "Globally Challenged: Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?"
Based on the research, U.S. students place behind 31 other countries
in math proficiency, and behind 16 other countries in reading.
Paul Peterson, a Harvard government professor, notes the effect this could have on the economy.
"If we're going to grow at the rate that we hope to grow at to
address the many issues that exist in our society, we need to have a
powerful educational system that is producing a highly proficient
workforce," Peterson told HuffPost in October.
Finland shocked the world with their scores
on the 2000 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) --an
international exam for 15-year-olds where it ranked first for reading
proficiency. By 2009, the country inhabited the top of the roster in
reading, second in science and sixth in math.
A 2010 study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed the U.S. history testing scores are "stagnant,"
with only 9 percent of fourth graders correctly identifying a
photograph of Abraham Lincoln and stating two reasons for his
importance.
Lee White, executive director of the National History Coalition, says
the problem stems from history's place in American curriculum.
"They've narrowed the curriculum to teach to the test. History has
been deemphasized," he said. "You can't expect kids to have great scores
in history when they're not being taught history."
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