The American education system has been around for a long time. During this time it has been constantly criticized, manipulated and modified. It is often a central topic of political elections because there are so many opinions on the topic. Everyone seems to think that their way of managing the system is the best. But which system is really the best? The answer depends on the student, which is why the student should be able to choose which high school to attend. One of the biggest problems with today's education system is that students are so limited in their high school options. In the United States, approximately 9.5 times more students attend public schools than private schools. [2] The reason for this is not because students choose to attend public high school; it's because most are forced to. School systems always say that the needs of the student are the number one priority. In reality, while teachers may put their students first, the school's administration and its governing body will always put money first. For schools, the key to getting money is test scores. The government distributes money to schools based on test results and improvements. This is the reason for the burdensome barrage of standardized tests that most public school students are subjected to each year. While this money is beneficial to students, is it worth adding additional stress and workload to their plate each year? For most students in our English 11 class, the cost wasn't worth the reward. When we had a class discussion, many students were very vocal about feeling unnecessary pressure regarding the PSSA or other state exams. Students believe they go to school to succeed and get into college, not to…halfway through the task…students choose their. This is a necessary change in how the education system is run in the United States. Works Cited Barnett, Jeffrey L. “Summary of State and Local Government Finances: 2008.” United States Census Bureau. April 2011. Web. September 21, 2011. .The Center for Education Reform. “K-12 facts.” The Center for Education Reform. Network. September 16, 2011. National Center for Education Statistics. “Quick facts.” Home page of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Network. September 16, 2011. .Pope, Denise Clark. "Doing school" How we are creating a generation of stressed, materialistic and miseducated students. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 2001. 32. Print.