"Wake up all the teachers, it's time to teach in a new way", as said in the song "Wake Up Everybody", performed by Harold Melvin in 1975 39 years ago this was said, and people really should have listened to these almost prophetic words. Since then, the United States has fallen dramatically in the world rankings and changes absolutely need to be made. In order to properly change the American education system to catch up with other countries around the world, we must reallocate resources, focus, and fundamentally rethink the principles of education in the United States. Many people in the United States don't think changes are necessary. to do but they are completely false. Our problems are summed up almost perfectly by the Wall Street oasis: “Regardless of political affiliation…one fact remains…our education system sucks at the K-12 level.” The United States is falling significantly in the world rankings and people no longer want to come to the United States to study like before. In 2011, fewer international students came to the United States than in previous years. Our international students are declining almost every year, almost as fast as we are falling in the global education rankings. (Washington Post) As the Department of State said, "The United States needs a deeper, more systematic approach to improving education." » I still think that's not the case. is that not a problem? Every three years, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) conducts a survey on the richest country in the world. These tests are distributed in 65 countries every three years. According to the findings of the OECD in its annual test, the United States ranks 36th in the world. Some important countries ahead of us are: Shanghai at No. 1, South Korea at No. 5, Finland at No. 12 and the Union...... middle of paper ......Web. May 15, 2014.Partanen, Anu. “What Americans Still Don’t Know About Academic Success in Finland.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, December 29, 2011. Web. May 15, 2014. “What works for kids?” » StarTribune.com: News, weather, sports from Minneapolis, St. Paul and Minnesota. Np, and Web. May 16, 2014. “6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.” » The American education system and why we are behind. Np, and Web. May 18, 2014. Brown, Sophie. “Shanghai teenagers top international education rankings, OECD says.” CNN. Cable News Network, December 3, 2013. Web. May 18, 2014.Kenny, Charles. “The Real Reason America’s Schools Stink.” Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, August 19, 2012. Web. May 18, 2014. Strauss, Valérie. “American Education Internationally.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, June 25, 2013. Web. May 18, 2014. “Why American Education Is Failing.” " Global. Np, and Web. May 17 2014.