Whatever differences we may read from the PISA results that were released today—here's a sampling of quotes from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) U.S. Report (PDF). Each could be a blog post on their own and each serves up some interesting pieces of information.
Socio-economics
Students who did not surpass the most basic PISA performance level were not a random group. The results show that socio-economic disadvantage has a strong impact on student performance in the United States … In other words, in the United States, two students from different socio-economic backgrounds vary much more in their learning outcomes than is normally the case in these other countries. (p.29)
Socio-economic disadvantage translates more directly into poor educational performance in the United States than is the case in many other countries.(p.29)
The United States is one of the countries with the strongest correlation between schools with a student population that is predominantly socio-economically disadvantaged and a more negative school disciplinary climate. (p. 35)
Immigration
In fact after the socio-economic background of students is accounted for, immigrant students outperform non-immigrant students by 15 PISA
12-2-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG Integrating Common Core and Character Education: Why It Is Essential and How It Can Be Done — Whole Child Education
Integrating Common Core and Character Education: Why It Is Essential and How It Can Be Done — Whole Child Education: Integrating Common Core and Character Education: Why It Is Essential and How It Can Be DoneWith more states adopting the Common Core State Standards, it can be overwhelming for U.S. schools and teachers to consider "adding" anything else. But character education isn't abou