It is safe to say that the current education system in the United States does not help create a good workforce, does not help students achieve their goals, and does not do a good job of create good citizens. The current education system is unable to do this because not everyone is in the process of obtaining a higher education, it is not practical and college education and grades are not good factors/indicators in determining a person's success. Yes, the education system here is better than in other areas, but there are some things that need to be worked on. Once a person graduates from high school, they are faced with a difficult decision, whether to go to college or not. For some families this isn't an option, their kids will leave no matter what, but many students don't want to go to school and have so much student debt by the time they finish that they will have to pay it back that they decide college is not worth it the penalty. According to Craig Smith in his article in Education Digest, “too many families cannot afford to send their children to college, so the student is left with the decision of whether to go to college and pay off debt or simply skip college altogether” ( Smith 42 ). He's right. Too many students feel like they have to pay so much, but they don't actually get much out of it. Smith later in his article states, “We must stop balancing our state and institutional budgets on the backs of students and families” (Smith 46). School shouldn't just be about money, it should be about helping students get the education they need to make it in the big world. If a student is so worried about how they will pay their school bill, they won't focus on class work and... mid-paper... college to begin with and finally grades are not the only indication that a person is ready or not for the world of work. There are many other factors that can be considered to make the final decision. Works Cited Dostis, Melanie. “A degree alone is not enough to prepare graduates for the world of work.” United States today. USA Today, October 31, 2013. Web. April 16, 2014Nguyen, Dung. The true purpose of college and higher education. 2000. Twenty deltas. Network. April 15, 2014Oliphant, Robert. "Letter to a student B." Writing on the river. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw, 2012. 136-141. Print"Should preparing students for the world of work be the primary mission of colleges and universities?" Debate.org Phillip and Crystal Ferreira, Web. April 16, 2014. Smith, Craig. “State student debt policies leave families with few good options.” Education Digest 79.7 (2014): 42. MasterFILE Premier. Network. April 15. 2014.