Rank 14

     The American education system at this present time is, to put it bluntly failing, specifically the college system. It is insane  that thousands of people cannot afford to go to college, and that millions of others leave school with a mountain of debt that burdens them for decades. These individuals are our future teachers, engineers, doctors and or politicians and we do so little to accommodate these lower-income students. As of 2015, the U.S is ranked 14th in education in the entire world, we aren't even in the top 10 countries for education and yet we boast about how great our educational system is. If we want to ensure that the future of this country is prosperous we need to radically change our education system immediately.
      High tuition fees and fear of high debt for college discourages students from attempting to go to college, tuition should be free for students going to public colleges and universities. Last year, Germany eliminated tuition because the charging of $13,000 per year for college was discouraging students from going to college. Finland offers free college to all of their citizens and they're ranked 5th in education, this is not a coincidence. If other countries can take this action, then so can the U.S. UNfortunetly this will take much time to accomplish, so in the meantime more financial aid should be given to the low-income students to cover their room and board, books and living expenses.
     The current presidential candidates both have education policies that could be beneficial to future and current college students, but no system is perfect. In the article "Making Sense of the Two Candidates' Plans on Student Debt" it is explained what each candidates policy will do. Both plans would make college free for students and would essentially wipe debt, but only Hillary Clintons plan has real worth. She would make college free, wipe debt over time, and give jobs to students in exchange for this free debt program. This would push college education higher, increase our workforce, and hold us to a higher standard of education. Until we change our education system nothing else will improve for the U.S as a whole, education is a right, not a privilege.