tandfonline.com – The US failure to adopt the metric system: the high cost of teaching the English system

Over twenty years ago, an article by Richard Phelps addressed the benefits of the United States (US) educational system carrying out a complete adoption of the metric system of measurement. Today we find that the US is still in the same position in teaching both measurement systems in schools, which is a financial drain. This study sought to identify the monetary savings that the US would obtain by teaching only the metric system of measurement in today’s schools. A cost–benefit analysis of data, used in economics, provided evidence there is great benefit to the US in only teaching the metric system of measures. Calculations show annual savings due to the elimination of English measures from instruction ranging from $1.603 billion to $2.506 billion per year. Over time the total savings would accumulate to a present discounted value of between $53.4 to $83.5 billion. Such savings are significant and should impact policy decisions related to the US transitioning to a full metric conversion.