Page 90 - EW November 2024

International News

LETTER FROM AMERICA THE RANKINGS
Election implications for education Oxford’s long reign

write this a few days before an XFORD UNIVERSITY HAS RETAINED THE num-
important election in Ameri- ber one spot in the Times Higher Education World
I ca. It has implications for OUniversity Rankings for a ninth year in a row. But
education and for every area of the reputation of the wider UK sector is rapidly eroding,
American policy. Should govern- with a similar trend seen in the US.
ment continue to become more
centralised, more controlled by Oxford’s reign is now the longest in the history of the
complex bureaucratic rules in the league table, beating Harvard’s eight-year stint which ended
hundreds of thousands? LARRY ARNN in 2011. The institution’s performance has been bolstered
This has been the trend in America for almost 100 years. by significant improvements in its income from industry
It began in earnest in 1932, with the election of President and the number of patents that cite its research, as well as
Franklin Roosevelt and the first political majority in favour its teaching scores.
of it. At that time government consumed about 12 percent Across the Atlantic, the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
of the country’s GDP. Today it consumes over 50 percent.
In 1930, most spending was controlled by cities and towns. nology (MIT) is now the US’ highest-ranked university, in
Today most government spending — over 60 percent — is second place globally, its best-ever performance. It replaces
controlled at the federal level. Given the size of the Ameri- Stanford, which has dropped from second to sixth, its lowest
can economy, this change is massive. Also since the balance position since 2010, driven by declining scores for teaching,
between the public and private is crucial to a free society, research environment and international outlook.
it is a fundamental change. Harvard University has moved from fourth to third place
This has implications for education. In America, over and Princeton from sixth to fourth. MIT and Princeton are
half of all employees in public education are non-teachers.
The system is driven by huge bureaucracies outside the proving to be dark horses, with the data revealing steady
classroom. In my opinion, this removes power from the improvement in their positions over the past decade.
people who ought to have it: teachers and parents. They But while the top of the ranking is still dominated by US
are the people who know children best and should help and UK institutions, the data behind it reveals a more wor-
them learn. risome trend: both countries are seeing a rapid decline in
Centralisation of school education has not produced their average research and teaching reputation.
good results. Reading standards in America are low com- The UK’s teaching reputation has dropped by 3 percent
pared to other developed countries. Students know less
about history, physical sciences, and mathematics than since last year and research reputation by 5 percent, based
in comparable countries of Europe and Asia. The national on more than 93,000 responses to THE’s Academic Reputa-
goal is that every child should read by the end of class III tion Survey, in which academics choose up to 15 institutions
(i.e, age 8-9). In good schools, students begin to read eas- they believe excel in teaching and, separately, research.
ily by age 5-6. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy
This is why, as centralised government has grown in Institute, UK, believes the decline in teaching reputation
America, confidence in it has fallen. Levels of trust in gov- is due to underfunding. “When you underfund university
ernment in America are low. Today only 22 percent of the
American people believe the federal government does the teaching, as we have been doing, the result is often worse
right thing most of the time. But this persistent disapproval staff-to-student ratios, problems with marking and evalu-
in public opinion means there are opportunities for change.
And major changes have begun to be made in education The World University Rankings 2025: Top 10 universities
at states level in recent years, and they are accelerating. I
have written in this column before about charter schools, Rank Rank InstituTion Country /
2024
region
2025
which are exempt from many of the regulations that govern
public schools in America. They give local people — par- 1 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom
ents, teachers, and community leaders — the opportunity 3 2 Massachusetts Institute of
to manage schools autonomously. This is popular and Technology United States
right. Hillsdale College, where I work, has helped to found
and manage more than 100 charter schools, and they are 4 3 Harvard University United States
thriving. 6 4 Princeton University United States
One of the candidates in our presidential election, Mr. 5 5 University of Cambridge United Kingdom
Trump, supports the extension of these reforms and the
other opposes them. That is one of the key issues of the 2 6 Stanford University United States
imminent election. 7 7 California Institute of Technology United States
By the time you read this, we will know who has won. It 9 8 University of California, Berkeley United States
is an exciting time. I am pulling for the reformers. 8 9 Imperial College London United Kingdom
(Dr. Larry Arnn is President, Hillsdale College, USA. 10 10 Yale University United States
letteramerica@hillsdale.edu)

90 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2024