Education Week – Christopher T. Cross
“Using data from the recent Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PISA), the OECD reports that in literacy the United States outscored only Spain and Italy among the 22 participating nations…In numeracy, we tied with Spain and Italy for last place…For those who believe college-degree holders do well, U.S. graduates with bachelor’s degrees outscored their international peers only in Poland and Spain…How will our students at least match the skill and knowledge levels of our economic competitors if we do not raise expectations and standards? How will we assure the continuation of our democracy if citizens are unable to analyze complex information and data when they vote and participate in civic affairs?…Do we want to lower our expectations when we are far behind the international pack?”(more)