After the Wednesday night airing of “Waiting for Superman” as part of the Honors College Assembly’s “What if” documentary series, panelists spoke in the Ferguson Center Theater regarding reform to the current education system in America.

“Waiting for Superman” focuses on the current failing situation of America’s school system.

“The movie shows desperation that low-means families have for their children,” said Ben Guest, a panelist at the event. “Seventeen percent of charter schools are more effective than public schools, and the rest are either below or average compared to public schools.”

Within the past 30 years, funding for students in public schools has risen from $4,300 to $9,000, according to the documentary. The documentary went on to say that this funding for schools has not shown an increase in proficiency of students.

In Alabama, 18 percent of students are proficient in math, while in Mississippi 14 percent are proficient, and 30 percent are proficient in New York, according to the documentary. In Washington D.C. reading proficiency is the lowest in the nation at 12 percent.

“I hope you were outraged by the movie,” said Mary Boehm, another panelist at the event. “There is a way for you and for us to get involved in schools.”

In college, many freshmen have to take remedial classes, as their high school educations failed to prepare for higher-level learning.

The documentary discusses how large portions of freshmen entering a four-year institution have to take remedial classes before beginning college-level classes. The idea to combat this problem, addressed by the documentary, is creating charter schools.

“The solution is broken; we have to give them the solution through public schools,” Boehm said.

“One-third of charter schools have results that are below average,” said Paul Landry, a panelist at the event. “The movie is clearly slanted, and it could be seen as propaganda.”

“The movie should allow for balance and debate,” he said.

In the documentary, students were shown at lotteries, which would pick who got into the better schools.

Students who waited to be picked in the lottery were not guaranteed a spot and most did not get in.

“If we deal with poverty in this country we deal with education,” said James McLean, a panelist at the event and dean of education at the University.

“We tend to put the most inexperienced teachers in the most difficult areas,” he said.