Source: http://www.city-journal.org/2009/eon0116mw.html

“The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, an international test of fourth- and eighth-grade student achievement, recently released its latest results. As in prior years, the mean U.S. scores were roughly on par with those in most developed nations in Europe, though well below those in Asia. But students in other developed nations far outpaced U.S. students in top-level science scores. For instance, only 10 percent of American eighth-graders performed at the highest level in science, placing the U.S. 11th among the tested nations and well behind countries such as England (17 percent), Japan (17 percent), and Singapore (an astounding 32 percent).”

May I offer an explanation for why the statistical data is always inaccurate and misleading?

The United States is the ONLY country where the government policies dictate the testing of all students equally.  Therefore, unlike in the English system where students begin specializing and being “tracked” during their education, the US’s version of tracking is much different.  It does not involve the eventual separation of students in to technical, arts, science, and other pre-collegiate academies.  Therefore, when countries across the world test, 95% of the time, they are only testing a portion of their student population–the portion that has been tracked into that area of academics, be it those specializing in math, or science, or music, etc.

A story indicative of the US educational system…

If you compared a school to a business, the comparison is uncanny, but the results are quite different.  Let’s imaging that you managed a business as a recieving manager, and let’s say it was in the automotive industry.  On this normal “day” you were standing on the dock, accepting the latest shipment of axels, and unfortunately, some of those axels arrived damaged, broken, bent, and generally unusable, with only a small few arriving in good condition… What would you do?  The responsible manager would send back those damaged items, but the same is not true in education.  While we are forced to work within the government mandated business model, where all students must achience the same level, we cannot send back our student that arrive damaged.  Those students from broken homes, student’s who’ve been abused, those with learning difficulties, and the generally disabled.  On the contrary, we are told like the business, that all students must achieved equally, and regardless of the condition of the incoming “product” the outgoing “product” must all be equally exceptional.  Thus, why the US tests all students equally and continually “lags” behind other nations.  And, why that entire notion of the US being behind is complete heresy and hype.

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