The 2006 results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) were released earlier this week. PISA, an annual study funded by the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development, compares the academic progress of 15-year-olds in 57 countries.
PISA is an internationally recognized and respected means for “benchmarking” students’ progress in math and science in the participating countries. This year’s results show US students have fallen farther behind, something that education experts have been predicting.
Study results
Some of the most notable findings of the 2006 PISA study:
- Finland tops out the study with the highest international scores in both math and science.
- American students ranked 21st out of 30 in science (30 is the total number of countries in OECD jurisdiction).
- The U.S. did even worse in math, ranking 25th out of 30. The US also scored worse than countries in "non-OECD jurisdiction," (considered to be developing nations) like Russia, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, and Estonia.
- Six countries consistently made it to the top ten: Finland, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.
Poor results linked to poverty
An accompanying study also showed that low test scores in the US are directly linked to poverty. These results don't surprise Ross Weiner, vice president of program and policy for the Education Trust, who was quoted in Education Week as saying that there's plenty of research showing that the US schools often provide disadvantaged students with "less demanding curricula, poorer-quality teachers, and fewer educational resources than their peers in wealthier US communities."
Motivation as a factor
American business leaders fear that it may be more than just lack of opportunity that’s contributing to the decline in US students’ scores in the international playing field, particularly in wealthier communities. A good example of this is the newly released film, Two Million Minutes, a controversial documentary that follows the academic path of six students in three countries (watch the Youtube trailer to see it for yourself).
Producer Bob Compton, who funded the film with $500,000 of his own money, says the impetus for creating this film was born of his observation that “global education standards have passed America by.” Tim Draper, a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist featured in the film, describes the American education system as “broken,” and agrees that “American is the one country in the world that doesn’t seem to recognize that it’s in competition for the great minds and the capital of the world.”
What’s next for American education?
Regrettably, the US has elected to withdraw its participation in PISA for 2007. Perhaps this is because the US has grown tired of the hyper-focus on accountability and “skill and drill” that has been born of No Child Left Behind. Or perhaps the competition just feels too steep? Either way, closing our eyes to the problem won’t make it go away. This growing crisis needs to be addressed--our future counts on it.
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