Like most issues in education, the topic of students' needing remedial college classes is not as simple as some might assume....
Right...It's all complicated and stuff, so we need the same people who've been ******* up the system for at least the last 50 years to fix it.
yes, in reality American kids score the highest on international tests, the liberal status quo is what we should protect most, and under no circumstances should a school or business be able to fire someone just because they are failing at their job !!
Statement of Pascal D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D.,
U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Today feels like graduation day for all of us who have spent the last few years working on the TIMSS study. The results of schooling in America are now in. Our most significant finding is that U.S. 12th grade students do not do well. When our graduating seniors are compared to the students graduating
secondary school in other countries, our students rank near the bottom. This holds true in both science and math, and for both our typical and our top-level students.
How do we know this? Our 12th graders along with students in their last year of school in more than 20 countries were tested in 1995 as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, better known as TIMSS. The results are included in this report, Pursuing Excellence: A Study of U.S. Twelfth-Grade Mathematics and Science Achievement in International Context. This is the third report from the study. Previous reports covered international comparisons of 4th graders and 8th graders.
In sheer quantitative terms, TIMSS is the world's largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international education comparison ever.
I am glad you find the TIMSS an excellent measure for comparing US students to their global peers because you can examine real data from the 2011 tests.
Apparently, in 1995 US students didnt fare well. In fact, US students were at the bottom of international testing when comparisons began in 1960's. Fortunately, great progress has been made.
The grades of US twelfth graders in 1995 are not comparable to international scores because most Asian and European schools divide their students into TWO tracks when they start HS. About half the students go into a vocational/technical track and the top students go into an academic track. The US includes ALL its students in the testing program. In comparison to other countries, the US curriculum has emphasized creative problem solving. While you may find that amusing, it explains why the US is at the forefront in new product and technology innovations. Some Asian countries are trying to incorporate American educational programs into their systems which tend to develop conformity and convergent thinking.
The more recent TIMSS scores show the progress US have made since 1995.
"Exclusive! Pasi Sahlberg on TIMSS and PIRLS (Guest Post by Pasi Sahlberg) | National Education Policy Center
"This week educators around the world got a new opportunity to benchmark their studentsÂ’ performance to their international competitors when The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) released the results of TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) mathematics and science of 63 countries and PIRLS (Progress in Reading Literacy Study) in 48 countries. The United States took part in both of these studies that tested how well 4th grade children can read and what 4th and 8th grade students know about mathematics and science in school.
...But a glance at participating countriesÂ’ national averages reveals some interesting aspects of American students performance in the 2011 TIMSS and PIRLS studies. 4th grade Americans scored high in science and reading and a bit lower in mathematics (7th, 6th and 11th respectively). Ahead were only East Asian countries (South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan) and Finland.*
American 4th graders did better than most of their European peers in all tested areas."
"In 2011, the average mathematics score of U.S. 4th-graders (541) was higher than the international TIMSS scale average, which is set at 500.
"At grade 4, the United States was among the top 15 education systems in mathematics (8 education systems had higher averages (including *N. Carolina which was scored as a country) and 6 were not measurably different) and (the US) scored higher, on average, than 42 education systems.
The 8 education systems with average mathematics scores above the U.S. score were Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong-CHN, Chinese Taipei-CHN, Japan, Northern Ireland-GBR, North Carolina-USA, and Belgium (Flemish)-BEL."
"The percentage of 4th-graders performing at or above the Advanced international mathematics benchmark in 2011 was higher than in the United States in 7 education systems, was not different in 4 education systems, and was lower than in the United States in 45 education systems."
"Eighth grade American students also did well, hitting 9th in mathematics and 10th in science. Here again, before the U.S. came East Asians, Finns and, perhaps against the odds, Russians.*
"Another interesting revelation in TIMSS 2011 is amazingly high performance of some U.S. states that took part in that study as ‘countries’. For example, 4th grade pupils in Florida performed above Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Quebec in reading, science and mathematics and were on par with Finland, except in science.*
Furthermore, 8th grade students in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado were better than high performing Hong Kong in science. If Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Indiana and Colorado were countries, they would all fit into top ten in 8th grade mathematics."
"At grade 8, the United States was among the top 24 education systems in mathematics (11 education systems had higher averages*
( included in the 11 higher averages are the scores from the states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, N. Carolina, and Indiana) and 12 were not measurably different) and scored higher, on average, than 32 education systems.
The 11 education systems with average mathematics scores above the U.S. score were Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-CHN, Japan, Massachusetts-USA, Minnesota-USA, the Russian Federation, North Carolina-USA, Quebec-CAN, and Indiana-USA."
American students scores are not at the top, but there has been improvement.
If you believe our students are doing more poorly now, you will probably be interested in these specific TIMSS scores over time:
"Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) - Mathematics Achievement of Fourth- and Eighth-Graders in 2011
"Compared with 1995, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 4 was 23 score points higher in 2011 (541 v. 518)."
"Compared with 2007, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 4 was 12 score points higher in 2011 (541 v. 529)."
8th Grade
"Compared with 1995, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 8 was 17 score points higher in 2011 (509 v. 492)."
"There was no measurable difference between the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 8 in 2007 (508) and in 2011 (509)."
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) - Mathematics Achievement of Fourth- and Eighth-Graders in 2011