President Barack Obama’s plan for the future of American education has been posted on the White House Web site.

He plans to address the dropout crisis, support English-language earners and make math and science national priorities.

Along with these high ambitions, Obama said during his presidential campaign that all children should be bilingual.

¿Sí se puede?

In 2003, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement conducted the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Fourth and eighth-grade students around the world took math tests and the results were grouped by country.

Eight countries posted higher eighth-grade scores than the U.S. did. Those eight countries included England, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, the Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).

Six out of the eight countries have more days in the school year than the U.S. does. According to the 2003 survey, the average school year in the U.S. was 180 days. The international average was 190.

England and the Russian Federation averaged 194 days per school year. Taiwan, Korea and Japan all had more than 200 days in their school year.

Their school days are significantly shorter than ours. According to the survey, 26 percent of schools in the U.S. had six or more hours of instructional time per day or more, higher than any of the countries with higher eighth-grade math scores.

If school got out earlier, after-school programs would have to be expanded. If school started later, truancy and bus programs would have to be expanded.

A change to the system would be hard, with no guarantee of success. But Obama is supposed to be the president of change.

He focuses his education plan on teachers, but the students should be the focus. He should commission studies on how students learn at different ages, not find arbitrary “accomplished educators.”

He wants to find “new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay.” Part of his plan involves finding “accomplished educators” and teachers who “consistently excel.”

What exactly is an accomplished educator? Is it a teacher who doesn’t get fired? High assessment scores? A bubbly personality? There are just too many variables in that equation.

One reason teachers are paid so little is because the school isn’t open for half the year.

Having more school days would increase teacher salaries without having to find his “accomplished educators.” Increasing the number of days teachers go to work would increase their salaries.

Obama wants to make math and science a national priority and increase teacher pay. Lengthening the primary-education school year would kill two birds with one very expensive stone.

In “mx = Y,” increasing “x” increases “Y”. In this case, “x” equals the amount of school days, and “Y” equals teacher salaries.

It isn’t new or innovative, but it is simple algebra. Even our eighth graders could do that one.

Chris thinks the college school year is just fine, by the way. Reach him at cogino@asu.edu.