Interesting Article

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elementary/?article=Myth_of_Americas_Failing_Schools
Most interesting part to me:

I find it interesting that in India, about 7 percent of the college-age population is in college. I'm thinking Indian students must work desperately in that last year of high school to squeeze into the 7 percent. American students are more lackadaisical because here about 63 percent of high school graduates go to college the next year and the others can go later--this is a country of second chances.

If you test two groups of students, one of which has been cramming for months and one of which hasn't, the former will score higher. But are they better educated? Will they know more in a year? Four years? Ten? It's not a given. A test score is a snapshot of a moment.

Why should I work hard in school when it seems that I'm going to end up in college anyway. Now I realize that in America there are probably more colleges and families have more money they can use to afford those colleges. Probably in India some students that have the ability to go to college can't due to financial reasons. But I strongly doubt that the finances account for the disparity in those numbers.