Students in Finland
Mixed report card for U.S. students vs. others
WASHINGTON Students in the U.S. perform better than the global average, but still lag behind many of their peers in Asia and Europe, an international study found.
Fourth-graders have improved their scores in reading and math over the past four years, according to a study released Tuesday. But progress seems to fall off by eighth grade, where math and science scores are stagnant.
Meanwhile, kids in countries such as Finland and Singapore are outperforming American fourth-graders in science and reading. By eighth grade, American students have fallen behind their Russian, Japanese and Taiwanese counterparts in math, and trail students from Hong Kong, Slovenia and South Korea in science.
“These 2011 international assessments provide both encouraging news about our students’ progress and some sobering cautionary notes,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who applauded gains among fourth-graders but warned those gains aren’t being sustained in later grades. “That is unacceptable if our schools are to live up to the American promise of giving all children a world-class education.”
The results of the study, conducted every four years in nations around the world, show mixed prospects for delivering on that promise. A nation that once took pride in being at the top of its game can no longer credibly call itself the global leader in student performance. Wringing their hands about what that reality portends for broader U.S. influence, policymakers worry it could have ripple effects on the economy down the line, with Americans increasingly at a competitive disadvantage in the international marketplace.
Elevating the skills needed to compete with emerging countries has been a priority for President Obama, who has pledged to train 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade. “Think about the America within our reach: a country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs,” he said this year in his State of the Union address.
https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57558403/mixed-report-card-for-u.s-students-vs-others/