PISA Results Show U.S. Education Needs More Work

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported this week that American students continue to lag behind in international rankings based on performance on an international assessment. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an initiative driven by the OECD to measure 15-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy. PISA also includes measures of general or cross-curricular competencies, such as problem solving.  2009 was the last time this assessment was administered, and those hoping the U.S. would fare better were met with a grim picture. This year’s results reveal that 19 other countries and education systems scored higher than the U.S. in reading, 29 outperformed the U.S. in math, and 22 surpassed our nation in science—all with rankings faring worse than in the last assessment.
 
Of course, the PISA results varied across the states, with Massachusetts leading the pack by being competitive on a global stage. This highlights the impact local and state education policy has on our students and the importance of having a more consistent education across state lines. The U.S. education system is going through some very critical changes right now with the implementation of the Common Core, but once the standards start to really set in, hopefully we can improve the position of our students on future assessments.
 
NMSI is constantly striving to improve the state of education in the U.S. and our programs have shown remarkable success in improving student outcomes for students of all demographics. The core of NMSI's work is based on promoting rigorous coursework and providing teachers with the professional development they need to support student success.
 
Click the Button to Tweet! - The U.S. has fallen further behind other countries in #STEM and reading, but there is still hope! #edreform
 
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