American students return average scores in international comparisons

Over the past several years, various international assessments of students' factual knowledge of mathematics and science have placed U.S. students squarely in the middle in comparison with their peers in other industrialised countries. Experts are concerned that shortages of workers with the ability to apply scientific reasoning and mathematical logic to new problems may signal a decline in U.S. leadership in these areas.

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study, taken in 1995 and repeated in 1999, showed U.S. eighth graders ranking 14th out of 38 countries.

The massive National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science, released in November, showed that 47 percent of American high school seniors don't have "basic" science skills – declining from 1996, when 43 percent of seniors couldn't answer basic questions about earth, life or physical science.

Another international student assessment – the Programme for International Student Assessment, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – found that American 15-year-olds have average science-literacy scores, ranking 14th out of 31 countries.

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman assigns the blame to lack of school choice. Friedman recently said that the science scores are "disastrous" but not unexpected, given the "Soviet-style" monopoly of public K-12 education in the U.S.

Source: Cheryl Wetzstein, Science Dunces? Washington Times, December 27, 2001.

For text http://www.washtimes.com/culture/20011227-71922520.htm
For more on International Comparisons http://www.ncpa.org/iss/edu/

RSA Note: Milton Friedman’s comment applies equally to all countries in which government dominates schooling and disallows or discourages school choice. Spectacular improvement awaits any country that allows private providers to supply all education in a totally open and competitive environment. Governments should withdraw from the business of providing education and confine themselves to funding those who would otherwise receive no education at all.
Eustace Davie, Director, FMF.

FMF 02/01/02