Education: Worse Than Ever in the US

[unhappycamper]

http://watchingamerica.com/News/239310/education-worse-than-ever-in-the-us/

Education: Worse Than Ever in the US
Journal de Montreal, Canada
By Loïc Tassé
Translated By Samantha Nzessi
21 May 2014
Edited by Lau­rence Bouvard

A research group at Harvard University just published an alarming report on the competence of American students in various disciplines – it was the BBC that reported this news The conclusion is definitive. American students succeed much less than students in any other country in the world. Even students who come from wealthy or educated families succeed much less than students from other countries who come from wealthy or educated families.

Generally, American students rank in about 30th place. There are a few notable exceptions, such as Vermont and Massachusetts, where students achieve a rank equivalent to 8th or 10th in the world.

The authors have reached an inevitable conclusion: With these kinds of results, the entire U.S. economy is at risk. American students will not be able to take over from their elders because the study also shows that the grades of today’s students are not as good as those of students 10 years ago.

Why is this true? The authors of the study did not venture to find an explanation; they just reported the alarming results.

[Sancho]

1. If you read the original article carefully, you'll see the flaw...

"To equate proficiency and advanced
performance rates across states and countries, we execute a crosswalk between
the NAEP and PISA tests by identifying levels of performance on PISA that
yield equivalent proportions of U.S. students as meet the NAEP proficiency and
advanced standards. To execute this crosswalk between the two tests, we assume
that all those who pass the NAEP proficiency bar in 8th grade will pass a similar
threshold on the PISA test the next year."

Comparing the NAEP to PISA is like comparing your blood pressure to your cholesterol. Other than the fact they both measure something about your body, they aren't the same. NAEP and PISA are different in design, item analysis, and sampling methods. Neither are "aligned" with all the different state and international curriculums. In other words, this article seems to have a political agenda (typical at Harvard) before it starts.

Can we make accurate international comparisons? Yes, but it's a stretch to go from this flawed methodology to broad conclusions. Paper pencil tests like these are limited comparisons at best.

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. Funding?

Always question #1 when it comes to ed research.

[iemitsu]

3. Inequality and poverty are at the root of this disparity.

Every study of educational performance, done in the last 50 years, has concluded that income was the best indicator of success in the classroom. Our nation's increasing level of inequality and reform movements designed to segregate high achieving students from their less successful peers are the problem.