U.S. students drop to 16th in world

MASON, Ohio - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met with local parents Wednesday evening to discuss why U.S. students have fallen to 16th when compared to students in other countries.

He says the decline is a result of U.S. education remaining flat while education in other countries like China, Singapore, India and South Korea continue to improve.

"Other countries right now our out investing," Duncan said. "I worry about the countries that are out investing. Are they going to out compete us?"

Duncan also says students in those countries go to school all year round, which gives students 40 to 50 more days in the classroom. He also says other countries only hire teachers who graduate in the top third of their college class.

"To me it's about so much more than fighting for education. I really think we're fighting for our country," Duncan said.

The secretary opened himself up to a room full of nearly 200 parents, students and teachers at Mason Intermediate School.

In the crowd was Mason mother of three, Courtney Allen. She says Duncan's ideas may help in the future, but she wants some change right now.

"Some of the things are going to take a lot longer," Allen said. "Right now if we don't get funding in our schools, they'll start cutting programs, and they wont have the opportunities that I'd hope they have."

On the federal level, Duncan says he's pushed for some major changes like investing $500 million in early childhood education, $40 billion in grants for college students and $2 billion in community colleges.

However, Duncan says the federal government only contributes about 10 percent of a school's funding. He says the district pays about 40 percent, and the state contributes about 50 percent.

"We can't do it alone at the federal level," Duncan said. "We need states and districts to step up and be part of it."

Duncan says it's not all about increasing funding. He says throwing more money at broken system won't do any good. He says we need to focus on reform by elevating the teaching profession, enhancing non-profit organizations like YMCA and Boys and Girls Club and exploring how technology can improve education.