Let's face it. America has never been the smartest country in the world. Ever. But with test grades falling low, and the competence of teachers falling lower, what is there we can possibly do?

In his video special, "Stupid America", John Stossel revealed that teachers couldn't teach a high high school student to read 3rd grade literature, encouraged some students to cheat, and were demanding higher paychecks for doing the first two items. In his book, "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity", Mr. Stossel went on to reveal that America was below 3rd world countries in test scores, it was near impossible for schools to fire incompetent teachers, and New York teachers couldn't answer simple questions such as "What is the hue of a beige wall?" Obviously, something needs to be changed here so that we can remove incompetent teachers and raise our scores.

Whilst still on the subject of incompetence, lets talk about the roots of every educational board, its Board of Education. If anyone (like I), lives in North Carolina, then you know what I'm about to talk about. That's right, the school board for Wake County is about to make its schools lose accreditation for refusing to revoke its decision on redistribution of its kids based on parental income. For those who don't know, if everything goes according to plan, the redistribution will uproot pretty much everyone. One friend of mine got a message saying he'd be redistributed to a school across town, that on a bus is an hour long drive. At my school, he walks there in 30 minutes from his apartment.

Now, one answer a friend gave me to this was to copy the countries above us in test scores, but I know this won't work; partly because the school systems in other countries are screwed up.

My mother works for the American Board of Pediatrics as a test editor. She proofreads tests and helps make suggestions for how to prevent cheating on a test. How have pediatricians cheated before? Writing cheat notes on bottle and gum wrappers, on tissues, use button/camera/glasses cams, sneak in earbuds, sneak in miniature cameras, and the list goes on. How do high school classes in say, China cheat? Get everyone to bring a semi-automatic machine gun to school and demand the teacher gives you the answers. Cheating in America is relatively tame when compared to countries overseas, where with us you have notes written on arms and food wrappers, but in other countries students threaten teachers for answers.

So what can we do about American test grades? Also, what can we do about cheating both here and overseas?

Do you have a link on the kids in China who brought semi-automatic weapons to class in order to get answers from the teacher? I hardly think it is the sort of thing that typically happens in any school.

Wait... the decision your school board made was TO redistribute based on income or to NOT redistribute. Redistributing based on income is discrimination of social class (something that we deny exists here, but it does), and it should not be allowed under any circumstances.

Considering the hoops that I am having to jump through to even get into the accreditation program for teaching, I honestly do not see how some teachers can be so stupid. I know that teaching is a thankless profession, that they are dreadfully underpaid (and they are), and on top of that they have the Boards of Education telling them what they can and cannot teach like they somehow want our children to remain ignorant. They try to make America always look bright and shiny, like we have never done anything wrong ever... it is not true, nations make mistakes just like people do. They would ignore slavery if they could, and before the civil rights movement of the 1960s they sure as heck tried.

But no, sadly the biggest problem with our education system today, other than obscene lack of funding, is the existence of standardized testing. Instead of teaching students to think critically, to examine issues and debate them, to appreciate math, science, and literature, teachers are demanded to teach to the test questions... rote learning of formulas, names, dates... this is boring, and it makes students not want to pay attention. AP classes are a little better, but they are still teaching to the AP exams... honestly you don't seem to get an even remotely decent education until you are in college... and not everyone can afford to go to college.

As for the John Stossel report... well. I am sure that he had to hunt for teachers that stupid. It is not a very good form of journalism, but it does make his point that there is something wrong with our system.

Well hold on now. The U.S. does rate lower in school scores but we also have free public school open to people who are emotionally, mentally, or physically disabled and can't do well in schools. American schools aren't great but many other countries don't allow the bottom kids to attend in the first place. One of the big reasons people come to America is for free schooling, however poor it may seem.

So, we get bad test scores because everyone plays. Other countries only let in the top students for any type of higher education.

Saying that, our society doesn't value education. It's not important and no one cares because it's not cool. If we had a society where learning was important, we'd do better as a whole.

Unfortunately it's not how it is right now.