"What is now surprising and worrisome is U.S. students are even lagging the developing world, " Bill Compton said on www.2mminutes. "If our athletic performance at the Olympics were as poor as our global academic performance, it would be a national crisis and every level of government would be attempting to respond. That we blithely ignore the declining intellectual standards of American students seems almost insane. The cognitive skills of our children will determine both America's economic future and the economic future of each child."

    A documentary movie called "Two million Minutes" was created to compare and contrast schools in different parts of the world. The movie stated that America places 24th out of 29 countries that are proficient in mathematics by the 12th grade.

  Junior Egalita Irfan said,"Honestly, schools in USA are much easier, if you ask me. First, you can choose classes you want to take, so you don't have to take classes that you are not good at."

    Irfan is an exchange student from Indonesia who came here three months ago and is living with an American family. In Indonesia, Irfan wore a uniform to school and did not switch classes. She stayed in the same classroom, and the only thing that changed were the teachers, who switched classes.

      "We have the same students in the same class for a year, and we change classes and classmates every year. We can't choose classes we're taking," Irfan said. "In Indonesian high school, you can only choose two major classes: science class or social studies class. In science class, you have to take all the science subjects: chemistry, physics and biology. You have to. You can not choose. And in social studies class you have to take history, sociology and geography. And for both classes, math, Indonesian Government, Indonesian Language, Physical Education and English are required," she said.

    Some countries even go to school earlier in the day than the United States. For example, Irfan had to go to school every day Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m. The end of the school day varies due to extra curricular programs or tutoring.

    Another difference Irfan pointed out is the attitudes students have toward their teachers.

    "Some attitudes of the students that is categorized as 'fine' here can be considered 'impolite' in Indonesia," Irfan said.

    Many American students sleep in class and do not do much homework. Procrastination is a major conundrum when it comes to doing work. "Two Million Minutes" said eight out of 10 students would preferably go to football games, to the movies and just hang out with friends than work on their project due the following day of school.

    "I like both schools, here and Indonesia. It's just different. I can learn so many things in a year in my school in Indonesia, but my school there sometimes makes me crazy if my brain is burdened too much," Irfan joked. "And it's fun here.  I can choose my own class and I don't really have to use my brain on those classes, except when I'm stuck with language. I can use a calculator here, too, so I think I lose some of my manual calculating ability!"