AP story posted on CNN.com (so you know its left-wing and unreliable[8D]):
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Compared with their peers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, U.S. 15-year-olds are below average when it comes to applying math skills to real-life tasks, new test scores show.
The U.S. students were behind most other countries in overall math literacy and in every specific area tested in 2003, from geometry and algebra to statistics and computation.
The latest scores from the Program for International Student Assessment also show that white U.S. students scored above average, while blacks and Hispanics scored below it. That achievement gap has become the focus of federal education policy.
Education Secretary Rod Paige called the new scores a "blinking warning light" as the Bush administration seeks to raise expectations and expand testing in high school.
The international test is not a measure of grade-level curriculum, but rather a gauge of the skills of 15-year-olds and how well students can apply them to problems they may face in life. It also aims to give the United States an external reality check about how it is doing.
One expert who reviewed the scores, Jack Jennings of the independent Center on Education Policy, said the test is more a measure of how math is taught than what students know. Many U.S. math classes teach analytical or theoretical thinking, not everyday math application.
"You could have American kids knowing more math, it's just that they may test lower than other countries because their learning is not geared toward practical application," he said.
By comparison, scale scores on the United States' own math test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, have risen sharply for fourth-graders and eighth-graders since 1990. That test, however, differs in its content and in that it is geared by grade, not by age.
The international assessment measures math, reading and science literacy among 15-year-olds every three years. This time, the main focus was math.
Among 29 industrialized countries, the United States scored below 20 nations and above five in math. The U.S. performance was about the same as Poland, Hungary and Spain.
When compared with all 39 nations that produced scores, the United States was below 23 countries, above 11 and about the same as four others, with Latvia joining the middle group.
"We cannot afford to let the skills of our students fall behind the skills of students in other nations," said Joseph Tucci, chairman of the education task force of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers from major U.S. corporations. The business group is calling for a renewed national commitment to science and math education.
The test is run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based intergovernmental group of industrialized countries. The top math performers included Finland, Korea, the Netherlands, ***an, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Compared with peers from the OECD countries, even the highest U.S. achievers -- those in the top percent of U.S. students -- were outperformed.
U.S. scores held steady from 2000 to 2003 in the two math subject areas tested in both years. But both times, about two-thirds of the major industrialized countries did better.
Less clear is why, officials acknowledged.
Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said at a news conference Monday that contributing factors included too few qualified math teachers and not enough effort to engage students in math at an early age.
Private researchers and the federal government will help reveal some underlying lessons for the United States by doing more analysis of the numbers, said Robert Lerner, commissioner of the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics.
Compared to 2000, there was no measurable change in the reading performance of U.S. students, or in the nation's average standing when compared to other OECD countries.
There was no change in science, either, in terms of the performance of U.S. students. But the U.S. score in science has now fallen below the international average.
I'll quote no studies or facts...this is purely by the seat of my pants...that, and I've been an educator...teacher, counselor, for the past 29 years.
My take........students, parents and teachers need to take an equal load of responsibility for this......parents aren't parenting as much as years before, they are trying to GIVE their kids more and more and are trying to be their kids friends instead of their authority figure. Students are happy to be excellent at mediocrity....and I do believe that teachers are not as devoted and/or prepared for the rigors of teaching (as in years past). Some of this has to do with the disintegration of the nuclear family....there is a tough row to hoe when over 1/2 your class is from homes that are way more than just divorced....there are levels of disfunction in our society now that are scary.
I also realize that there is still around 75% of the student body doing ok (just ok) but the 10-15 % of the kids I spend 90% of my time with (I'm currently a high school counselor) are more and more needy. I'll probably stay in my job for about 4 more years. I am looking forward to leaving because of the demands today. I like my job and am invigorated when working with kids and families....but the extent of the problems crossing my desk are becoming overwhelming.
Parents don't parent, teachers don't teach. and students/ kids will try to get away with anything they can. We, as a society, also do not want our teachers and other school authorities to actually have any kind of authority any more. They can't "make" the students lit down and pay attention with out fear of being sued and fired and the kids know this and exploit it to the fullest.
Schools are way over crouded. It is now acceptable to have a classroom of 30 - 40 students per teacher. The teacher simply can not give the time and energy to each individual student that is truely required.
I also do not know who is writing some of the text books now but to decipher what they actually want the student to do is like pulling teeth from a lion. I remember my son learning division and multiplication. The methods used literally made my head hurt. It's no wonder they have problems.
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"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency........... Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
I think there are several factors that come to into play here. For one, parent's attitudes have changed. Used to, if you got a bustin' at school, you got one immediately when you got home. Now, schools aren't permitted such discipline. It isn't enforced at home either. So kids just don't have the drive instilled in them to learn as much anymore. Now when the kid does something wrong, the parents seem to take the kids side when the teacher tries to discipline them.
I also notice sports seems to take priority over everything. Schools will hire extra coaches and pay more money, even if it means not having another badly needed teacher. Parents push their kids to excel in football, basketball, etc., instead of math, reading, and science. That becomes evident in college. The people that are there for an education major in economics, biology, business, and the like. Athletes tend to prefer general studies and excercise and sports science. Also, they can get away with lots of things that would get a normal student kicked out permanently.
I noticed this at my high school. Not that I think my education was inferior, but it seemed like it was always easier to get new football uniforms than a new welder for shop class or calculators for algebra. I guess I just question where our priorities lie.
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You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride!
I agree with much of what 8mm/06 said. Along those lines......students have to want to learn to learn. Most parents these days expect to simply send their kids to school and all will be well. Not so! Parents must take responsibilty for the other 16 hours the kids are at home. Make them do their homework, teach them responsbility, the value of a dollar, and that by doing their best to learn they are improving their chances at a brighter future.
These results are about the same as they were 20 or 25 years ago and they really get my jaws torqued down. I am sure that neither our students nor our teachers are inferior to any in the world on the basis of native intelligence. There are many reasons for this failure and amongst them are apathy on the part of the students, their parents and to a lesser degree the teachers. I do believe that both teachers and students have been beat up so often based on test scores and comparisons that they have reached a saturation point and will not improve until the system is fixed. I believe the way to fix the system is to get the federal government out of our classrooms. The schools in Georgia are about the worst in the nation, the schools in Atlanta are the worst of the worst, the city of Atlanta spends $13,000.00 per year per student on education, where are the results. Much of this money goes to funding federally mandated programs that have nothing to do with the actual teaching job. Extra administrative manpower required to file and keep track of government mandates sucks funds down a black hole and does nothing for thekids.
My solution? Get first the Federal Government out of the classroom and then, to a lesser degree the State. If federal funding is truly an issue as has been stated for the past 40 years, then a way must be found to fund at a federal level but keep the s.o.b.s' out of the classroom..
Well it does my heart good to see how many folks agree that the main problem with our public schools today falls squarely in the laps of the parents. Due to parents not voting, not raising cane at school board meetings, not letting the politicians on all levels know what we as parents want our children taught and how they are taught we fail or children, the public schools and oursleves!
Parents need to be involved both with thier children and the schools thier children go to. Parents need to wipe the dust off of the rod and start discipling thier children, discipline also needs to be returned to the school systems. Parents need to quit thinking that the teacher is always wrong and it is all the teachers fault! They need to be aware that when the teacher calls and says little Johnny got into trouble at school that the teacher didn't make little Johnny skip class or fail, little Johnny did it all by his self and as long as mommy and daddy protect his little butt little Johnny will do nothing but get worse!
I could write a book on how and why it is the parents fault, but why? It is quite appearant that in many parts of this country parents do not care about the school system or their kids.
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The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog
I think that 8mm and bigbulls hit the nail on the head.
It's like the old story where you go into McDonalds and the people behind the counter have trouble making change for a dollar.
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It' s a dog eat dog world, and I' m wearing Milkbone underwear
There are several other factors here, basically it comes down to stupid PC actions. My wife is a 6th grade math teacher and here are issues I see from her:
- Cannot flunk a kid and keep them from moving to the next grade without the parent approviing it. After all it might hurt their self-esteem.
- Complaints from parents on to much homework. Gets in the way of sports practice.
- Not leveling classes based on grades. All capability levels are in one class, they are not split out until high school. Again, it might hurt poor Johnnie's feelings if he is in the "low" class.
- Kids get to take tests over and over and over until they get a good grade. so why should they study.
- Kids get to take tests over and over and over BUT don't take advantage of this. Shows pure laziness and not caring on their part.
- Administrators who overrule classroom teachers when a parent calls. It's just easier that way. Shows the kids that the teachers have no authority.
Inferior American Teachers OR Students?
