How do U.S. Students Compare with their Peers around the World?
How do U.S. Students Compare with their Peers around the World?
by Arne Duncan
New international assessments of student performance in reading, math, and science provide both encouraging news about American students’ progress and some sobering cautionary notes.
The encouraging news is that U.S. fourth grade students have made significant progress in reading and mathematics in the last five years. In fact, our fourth graders now rank among the world’s leaders in reading literacy, and U.S. student achievement in math is now only surpassed, on average, in four countries.
Unfortunately, these signs of real progress are counterbalanced by the fact that learning gains in fourth grade are not being sustained through eighth grade–where mathematics and science achievement failed to measurably
New international assessments of student performance in reading, math, and science provide both encouraging news about American students’ progress and some sobering cautionary notes.
The encouraging news is that U.S. fourth grade students have made significant progress in reading and mathematics in the last five years. In fact, our fourth graders now rank among the world’s leaders in reading literacy, and U.S. student achievement in math is now only surpassed, on average, in four countries.
Unfortunately, these signs of real progress are counterbalanced by the fact that learning gains in fourth grade are not being sustained through eighth grade–where mathematics and science achievement failed to measurably