The United States lags behind most other developed countries when it comes to science education.

That, at least, is one conclusion of a major report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It measures student literacy in science, math, and reading (focusing this year on science) among 15-year-olds, and is an often-cited reference for policymakers sounding the alarm bells about the state of education in the United States and its implications for the ability of Americans to secure jobs in a global economy.

Finland emerged at the top of 57 countries in science, according to the 2006 survey results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The US ranked 29th, behind countries like Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Liechtenstein, and ahead of just nine other OECD countries…

“The lesson from PISA is that it’s not enough to test; you have to have the support and strategy to take advantage of what you learn from those tests,” says Mr. Wise. “Every community is not wired to the world, and every child needs to have an education that looks good not compared to the county next door, but internationally.”

Yup. So, no sneering and self-satisfaction from you Canadians – just because your kids came in 3rd.



  1. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    So what this report is saying is, Many Children Are Left Behind?

    So when C- student George “Bluto” Bush said “When you teach to the test, you are teaching” he might have been… how do I say this?… Full of shit?

    So can I be the first to blame Bush personally for our stunningly stupid teenagers?

    Thanks…

  2. Thomas says:

    #1
    First, no post would be complete without blaming Bush. Asteroids hitting the Earth? Bush’s fault! Stupid kids? Bush’s fault! Bad economy? Bush’s fault! Good economy? Can’t be Bush’s fault. Second, the state of our education has been deteriorating long before Bush came into office. The NCLB was a reaction to the atrocious quality of education in the US. It is reprehensible that kids are able to graduate High School without the ability to read or do arithmetic. The NCLB was a meant as a way of making teachers accountable for quality. Third, I am honestly not surprised at this result. Look at what the market is telling students. If you get a science degree you will never be paid as much as managers who are generally dumber and your job could be outsourced.

  3. Mister Mustard says:

    >>First, no post would be complete without
    >>blaming Bush.

    No look at any problem that’s gotten worse in the past 7 years would be complete without an evaluation of what Bush has done to fuck it up.

    He’s always got his finger in the pie.

  4. Angel H. Wong says:

    With a “I want my son to have a a circumcision because I don’t want women to find him ugly” mom and a “I want my son to have a circumcision because I want him to fit in the group” pop it’s no wonder kids are getting dumber.

  5. Sounds The Alarm says:

    Hey you fundies out there – think of it as evolution in action. Your blind faith will lead to your own irrelevance as you reject science for Noah and the dino stories.

    Of course you had a lot of help from the social engineering PC crowd, with social promotion, nanny schooling & parents that don’t value education.

    All of us better remember that evolution works in societies as well as in organisms. Abandon science and education for false sciences like PC, “social-engineering” & “Intelligent Design” and this country will be one big pathetic bunch of overweight micky-dees eating thunder butts, AS WE DESERVE TO BE.

    Hmmmm – responsibility for this one looks bipartisan to me!

  6. Improbus says:

    The kids must not be getting enough electrolytes.

    [Idiocracy reference for those who aren’t hip, yo]

  7. qsabe says:

    The testers just didn’t ask the right questions.
    My republican supported evangelist president said so.

  8. eyeofthetiger says:

    Teacher charged with making speed in class

    http://tinyurl.com/2zbqgc

    The problem is these youngsters can’t stay awake in class.

    [Please use TinyUrl.com for overly long URLs. – ed.]

  9. Leftbankhook says:

    Hey #2: “good economy?” When was that? I think I missed it….

  10. the Three-Headed Cat says:

    #6 – Sounds The Alarm

    “Of course you had a lot of help from the social engineering PC crowd, with social promotion, nanny schooling & parents that don’t value education.”

    How could you omit the contribution of the PC “value-relativism” crowd? Y’know, those open-minded, anti-“elitist” Samaritans who don’t want anyone’s feelings hurt by being told they’re “wrong”? As in “Well, what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me”?

    Everyone is as good as everyone else. And everyone has a right to an opinion. Therefore, every opinion is equally valid. Provides every idiot with a ready-to-use justification for their complete absence of knowledge on any topic. “Scientists say evolution is a fact? Pfft! That’s just their opinion!”

    That thought process in youth is nicely depicted in an experience my brother had many years ago; As a Vietnam combat vet, he was interested in seeing how the war was depicted in the very popular and controversial Apocolypse Now. He and an old friend went to see it, along with said friend’s teenage sister, who had never been out of her comfortable upper-middle-class urban neighborhood or otherwise been exposed to any of life’s more distressing realities.
    After they left the theater, she remarked, “Wow. That was exactly like it was!” To which my brother, having more than amply been there and done that, replied, “Well, no, not really.” Her reply was, “Well, I don’t agree, but you’re entitled to your opinion.”

    This sort of “thinking” permeates American society at all levels, and is responsible, among other things, for giving the average American, with no particular knowledge or experience on a given subject, the conviction that his incomplete, inaccurate take is every bit as worthy as that of educated, trained, experienced experts on that subject.

    Which is why, as you can witness on this very forum, ignorant, propagandized laymen confidently disputing and dismissing the work of professional scientists, with the smug arrogance that what they themselves have to say is correct, since it’s all “opinion” anyway, and who dares to say that their opinion is worth any less than somebody else’s? No investment of study or experience needed; “They’re wrong – because I, and people like me, think they are!”

    Good luck trying to use logic to show illogical people their inability to use logic accurately…

  11. JimR says:

    There is a very good reason the USA was 29th on the list.

    Secret Intelligence.

  12. Improbus says:

    Good luck trying to use logic to show illogical people their inability to use logic accurately…

    Most people don’t reason, they feel. Using reason is to hard for most people and there is always a chance that they may be proven wrong. Reason only has an up side for people seeking Truth.

  13. bamf says:

    #2 waaaaaaaaah leave bush alone, stop it! waaaaaaaaaaaah

  14. James Hill says:

    #14 – Just because he owns you is no reason to get pissy.

  15. KevinL says:

    Last year 20/20 did an excellent story on the state of the public education system in the US. It really showed the power of the teachers union and how they are able to use low scores to prove that more teachers are needed. Imagine that? One thing this post doesn’t mention is that in many of the countries listed ahead of the US, K-12 education is not a right. Therefor, many of the kids who would be bringing the curve down are in fact, not even in the system like they are in the US. I watched the Jeff Foxworthy Gameshow (Are you smarter than a 5th grader?) and was amazed at the smarts displayed by a current Biochemistry major (and his fellow frat boys). What complete idiots! “Standing on the equator, look north to see the sun rise”, “A camel’s hump is for storing water” Classics!

  16. ECA says:

    This is a LONG term problem…
    HOW many are old enough to remember the OLD chemistry sets??
    We could do almost anything with them..
    NOW, you cant even find a decent SET.

    I wont get into EDITED BOOKS that play DOWN what nature is about, until you get into HIGH SCHOOL, we are taught that Animals are PETS.

    Kids in the Inner city should spend 5 years on a Farm/ranch/in the country.

  17. /T. says:

    @ the Three-Headed Cat (how do folks come up with these handles anyway ??)

    Well put !!!!

    Imagine what the trillions of dollars spent on “foreign policy” efforts could have done to improve life at home … education, health care, employment etc.

    You know, all the things that are supposed to make the US the envy of all nations.

    I’ve enjoyed the company of every individual American I’ve met but, as a nation that put GWB in the White House, (Twice, for Christ’s sake!!) you guys certainly are a wacky/scary/sad bunch.

    Fetch your “boys & toys” home and think about cleaning up your own yard for a change.

    Perhaps then, next round, your kids can get the #3 spot … if that’s what’s important to you.

    @ #7 Improbus — good call 😉

    World Peace … imagine that for just a second.

    Cheers !

  18. #4 – Uncle Ben,

    Actually, your point may be even better than you think it is. How many kids today can even define the word science? For that matter, as pointed out above, with education in decline for many years now, how many adults can define science? Or, even more importantly, how many understand the scientific method and can honestly recognize the differences between it dogma? How many can recognize that when books on apologetics attempt to prove their point with statistics and “legal proofs” that this is not even close to anything science does?

  19. >>Hey #2: “good economy?” When was that? I
    >>think I missed it….

    He’s lumping in the good stuff that happened during Clinton’s administration, hoping that no one will notice.

  20. Thomas says:

    #19
    > Imagine what the trillions of dollars
    > spent on “foreign policy”

    The problem with this dream is that you are assuming:
    A. That any of the money that would have gone to “foreign policy” would have gone to education.
    B. That money that did manage to be spent on education would have been spent wisely.

    Frankly, I’m not willing to make either of those assumptions.

    #22
    I suppose if you have your head in the proverbial “Everything during the Bush years is bad” sand, then you could conclude the economy is bad. The economy is much better than the “Bush Hate” ostriches would have us believe. Maybe Hilarity (Hilary) will “fix” the economy by inventing another Internet.

  21. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    #2 Thomas said…

    First, no post would be complete without blaming Bush.

    True.

    Asteroids hitting the Earth? Bush’s fault!

    Only an idiot would make that assertion.

    Stupid kids? Bush’s fault!

    Bush is responsible only for his own stupidity, which keeps him busy enough, but should take the rap for the predictably ill effects of the No Rich Child Left Behind law.

    Bad economy? Bush’s fault!

    Well, okay… Of the varied and complex reasons for our wobbly insecure economy, Bush certainly has a share of blame to shoulder. After all, his incompetence is his responsibility.

    Good economy? Can’t be Bush’s fault.

    Could be, if we had one under his watch. But we don’t, so its a moot point.

    Second, the state of our education has been deteriorating long before Bush came into office. The NCLB was a reaction to the atrocious quality of education in the US.

    Bullshit. The NCLB was a reaction to the rabid demands of a largely ill-informed public demanding that someone be blamed for the state of education in poor inner city schools. In reality, many American public schools produce amazing results. There are schools in the northern suburbs of Chicago with 98% college placement rates. In fact, most schools considered among the best high schools in America are public schools.

    It was conceived with poorly researched thinking based largely on lazy conservative groupthink, and publicly sold with endorsements from First Lady Laura Bush who has no remarkable claim to anything beyond a basic knowledge of education.

    Like many bad ideas, it starts by deciding who to blame and working backward from there.

    It is reprehensible that kids are able to graduate High School without the ability to read or do arithmetic.

    True.

    The NCLB was a meant as a way of making teachers accountable for quality.

    Because of the false assumption that teachers were the problem. It’s that kind of simplistic thinking that leads to failure. Teachers are but one of many many factors that lead to success, and the student is a key factor.

    Third, I am honestly not surprised at this result. Look at what the market is telling students.

    Well… I tend to agree with the sentiment, but I doubt the average student is forward thinking enough to make that sort of analysis. However, I don’t doubt that your thinking applies to many above average students.

    Speaking only for myself, I wasn’t thinking about the impact of business trends on my future when I was 15. At 15, I was practicing my Academy Award for Best Director acceptance speech.

    I never had an issue with critical thinking, but I guess I failed to learn realistic thinking in high school 🙂

    If you get a science degree you will never be paid as much as managers who are generally dumber and your job could be outsourced.

    I DEFINITELY agree that my manager is dumber than me. 🙂

    —-

    You and I aren’t that far off, but I admit freely that I am especially harsh on Bush. But that’s because if you look at his life as a whole, you can only come away with the conclusion that he proved himself unqualified to be a regional manager for Taco Bell, let alone President, long before 2000 ever rolled around.

    Bush as a world leader is just one of the cruel jokes the universe sometimes plays on humanity. Bush is one of the key reasons I do not support Clinton. No matter what else I think of Hillary, I think we need to make sure that office doesn’t start turning into anyone’s family business.

  22. Saint Thom, NOTHING Dumbya could have done with those trillion$ of dollar$ would be worse than what he actually did with it.

    And I guess if you really think money won’t be well spent on education, the logical conclusion of that would be to remove ALL funding from public schools, eh?

    We could lock in the “Shittiest Education System in the World” trophy, just like we locked in the “Worst President Ever” one. Batting a thousand then, eh?

  23. Jetfire says:

    All you Bush hates do forget one important thing. Do the kids really wanting to learn. Most of these kids idols are people like Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton and other Celebrities. Their taught that if you want to be something you have to be famous by our mass media. This is reinforced by PC culture we live in that you can’t do anything wrong but are just miss understood. I grew up in Cincinnati and went to Catholic schools (I was taught evolution by the way) but a passing grade for me was 70% will kids going to the public school only had to get 60%. Don’t know what it is now.

    Most other countries it’s also a matter of pride to do well in school where here its more important to be on the football team or cheerleading squard.

    If you really want to fix the education system then support school vouchers so kids who do want to learn can get away from kids that don’t.

    That’s just my two cents worth.

  24. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    #25 – I grew up in Cincinnati and went to Catholic schools

    That can’t be true because I know that Catholic schools do teach grammar.

    Did you attend Our Lady Of Perpetual Illiteracy?

  25. B. Dog says:

    The brats can’t do math for shit either. All the neocons care about is if they can be trained to work a chaingun.

  26. Jetfire says:

    #26
    Yes, they did teach grammar but I never said I was top of my class. I always did well on dissecting a sentence but I suck at writing them. I spell like grap too. I also went to summer school allot. Now if I applied myself and not watch all the time. I could have done allot better. It’s also why I do CAD work for a living.

    But my writing skills have nothing to do with my point of not being able to teach someone who doesn’t want to learn or doesn’t think they need a good education. My point was people are more worried about how the school’s football or basketball teams are doing then how well the schools teach their kid. If a teacher fails the star player they are vilified for hurting the team. This unfortunately gets passed on to the kids and the kids take this attitude too.

  27. BubbaRay says:

    Just look at the “science” curricula in public schools for grades 8-12 these days. Do you actually expect kids to learn any science when creationism is taught along with “hard science”, when kids must pass through metal detectors to get to class, when many kids don’t even want to learn, they’d rather play video games than learn to design them etc.?

    Can’t blame all that on Bush. Seems like it’s been coming since Reagan and there are many more factors involved than money. But perhaps that’s just me being the sort that had to walk uphill both ways to school through the snow.

    I still teach kids about astronomy, those that get excited learn, those that don’t watch TV.

  28. ECA says:

    for some of you, MAY not understand something strange and interesting…
    To get a KID interested into something, THEY MUST get their hands on it…
    A teacher up front, SHOWING what happens, is NOT the thrill of doing it YOURSELF.

    AS well as having CLUBS/GROUPS, after school to PLAY and experiment in/with… With SOME adult supervision..

    Until we can introduce kids EARLY, and foster the knowledge as they develop… Its NOT GOING to work.

  29. Zep says:

    Not only Finland was the #1 but they did it 25-50% cheaper than the other EU countries, and all the public schools produced equally good students around the country.

    What is notable is that a poor country like Finland can do it. Their buying power and living space is one of the lowest in EU. Maybe there is nothing else to do than study, and everybody just likes to get good education to join the 20+% of Finnish population who have moved out of the country.

    It’s still nice to be #1 again, others being; the most violent, the most guns, highest taxes etc.


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