U.S. students failing the grade on world stage

Consider this information from research conducted by Achieve, Inc., a bipartisan, non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to prepare all young people for postsecondary education, work and citizenship.

  • Of the 21 countries participating in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, American high school seniors outperformed only students from Cyprus and South Africa and ranked behind such nations as Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, Russia and the Czech Republic;
  • Non-U.S. residents with temporary visas accounted for a third of the Ph.D.s awarded in science and engineering in 2003, despite any post-9/11 difficulties they might have experienced.
  • A recent study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that America's literacy rate is average among the nations of the industrialized world and that our high school graduation rate – 73 percent – is one of the lowest among the industrialized nations;
  • Once the leader in education, the United States now ranks 14th in the number of years a 5-year-old may expect to attend school during the course of his or her life;
  • The U.S. university dropout rate – 38 percent – is among the highest in the industrialized world.

Read more about the "Dumbest Generation?" What do you think?  Is the Millenial Generation the smartest or the dumbest ever?


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Ira S Wolfe