American students simply don’t compare to students in other countries. How many times have we heard this before? Well, prepare to hear it again. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has issued the findings of its survey of 15 year old students from across the globe. While some of the usual suspects make the top spots, you may be surprised by others.
Global scores for education from 2009
Based in Paris, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is comprised of 34 member nations that are committed to creating sustainable growth, world trade and higher standards of living worldwide. Every three years, the organization surveys 15 year old student achievement to track knowledge and problem-solving abilities. The results from the 2009 survey were recently released.
The survey scores countries on a 1000 point scale in three areas: reading, math and science. The United States scored squarely in the center of the scale for all three subjects. Its reading score was ranked 17th at 500; math was 31st at 487; and science clocked in 23rd with a score of 502. The numbers are roughly in line with the average scores for the 2009 survey.
The big surprise of the survey? The Chinese city of Shanghai was included for the first time and came out tops for all three subjects. In addition, the top five for each subject was dominated by Asian countries with only Finland breaking their hold in the areas of science and reading.
For each subject, the top ten countries for 2009 and their scores are:
Math
1. Shanghai-China: 600
2. Singapore: 562
3. Hong Kong-China: 555
4. South Korea: 546
5. Taiwan: 543
6. Finland: 541
7. Liechtenstein: 536
8. Switzerland: 534
9. Japan: 529
10. Canada: 527
Reading
1. Shanghai-China: 556
2. South Korea: 539
3. Finland: 536
4. Hong Kong-China: 533
5. Singapore: 526
6. Canada: 524
7. New Zealand: 521
8. Japan: 520
9. Australia: 515
10. Netherlands: 508
Science
1. Shanghai-China: 575
2. Finland: 554
3. Hong Kong-China: 549
4. Singapore: 542
5. Japan: 539
6. South Korea: 538
7. New Zealand: 532
8. Canada: 529
9. Estonia: 528
10. Australia: 527
Why are American students so average?
It has been debated for decades: why do American students consistently test at levels below their peers in other countries? Everything from standardized testing to teacher tenure has been blamed for poorly performing schools.
What is not often considered is the United States’ vastness – both geographically and culturally. One would be hard pressed not to acknowledge that students in Vermont probably come from a different socio-economic background than those in Arkansas. In addition, for most of the country’s history, education has been a locally controlled institution.
When the varying regional differences are considered along with the fact that most states have been developing their own educational priorities for more than a century, it makes sense that our students’ skills would blend to average out. However, that hasn’t stopped the federal government from trying to standardize student achievement across all 50 states.
In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to focus schools back to basics and improve student proficiency. However, the 2009 results actually have the United States scores going in the wrong direction. It is expected that the Obama Administration will use the 2009 global survey results to make a case for Congress to re-write educational standards.
Will it do any good? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, educators can look forward to a whole new set of federal standards to meet.
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Maryalene LaPonsie is an accomplished writer who has extensive experience reporting on education, career advancement and workforce development topics. She specializes in sales and marketing consultation as well as general copywriting services.
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