Chinese Students Are the World's Best; U.S. Doesn't Crack the Top 15
This week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released its triennial report assessing the relative performance of high school students around the world. The report, known as PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment), measured students' scores on standardized tests for reading, science, and math in 65 countries, with some regions included as well. Shanghai, the largest city in China, topped all three lists, while the United States came in at 17th, 23rd, and 31st place, respectively. The report has raised a number of questions about what, if anything, American schools should be doing differently, and how seriously the nation's educators should take these findings.