Simplistic and misleading statements seriously distort what the Third International Mathematics and Science Study actually says about American 12th-graders' performance. Physics and advanced mathematics scores are beyond redemption. However, if the math and science literacy were accurately calculated, factoring in appropriate variables, the United…

Continues the discussion about the Third International Mathematics and Science Study results. American eighth-grade students are on a par with science students in New Zealand, China, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Meanwhile, one researcher found that all of the top six countries in TIMSS math had centralized curricula. None relies heavily on tests. (MLH)

A book examining alleged American/Japanese test score divergences on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) suffers from "naive anthropology" and "adult- centric" thinking. Thicker U.S. textbooks may be the real problem. School performance is probably not linked to a nation's economic failures or…

When critiquing a 1992 IEA study of reading in 31 nations, Herbert Walberg unfairly panned U.S. reading instruction, considering that American 9-year-olds finished second and 14-year-olds tied for eighth place. Apparently, "progress" was down for high-scoring countries. Two UCLA researchers discovered that the Los Angeles student…

Jinfa Cai's study comparing Chinese and American sixth-grade students' mathematics performance found that American students did better on simple and complex problems than on computation. One reason might be Asian countries' stress on rote learning. Paul George's 1995 monograph "Japanese Schools: A Closer Look" found instruction…

Because the Reagan and Bush administrations accentuated the negative about American schools, there was little mention of U.S. students' average performance on the geography part of the 1992 Second International Assessment of Educational Progress. On the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (1994), U.S. eighth graders finished slightly…

A Hudson Institute study claims school administration is top-heavy. Actually, U.S. teachers constitute 78% of the instructional staff, which includes principals, assistant principals, librarians, and counselors. A 1998 OECD report shows that some nations have surpassed the U.S. graduation rate. The U.S. spends the most on higher education. (MLH)

Critics have long claimed that kids are getting dumber. Only in recent decades have schools been blamed for students' perceived ineptitude and our nation's declining competitiveness. Education indicators sagged around 1965 for a decade, then climbed to new highs. The schools shouldered the blame for the late 1980s recession, but got no credit for…

Reporting how many people scored at a certain level or how many people passed a cut score is not the same thing as reporting the scores themselves. The newest (indefensible) cliche, derived from international test-score comparisons, says American kids get dumber the longer they stay in school. (MLH)

Presents tables showing that the variability among states for results of the 1992 International Assessment of Educational Progress and National Assessment of Educational Progress is as great as that among countries. Also, Asian-American students score higher than any other students in the world. First- and second-ranked states are listed for math…

Many education critics are now acknowledging that schools are performing better than ever. "Then and now" studies of test scores typically favor the now. Student motivation strongly influences performance on standardized tests. Bush's America 2000 program does little for poor and minority children falling behind grade level. Complex…

A University of Michigan study that surveyed students about sexual harassment behaviors discovered that 83% of girls and 60% of boys have experienced harassment. Also, 75% of the victims had also been perpetrators. Another study examined how cultural influences may affect high-achieving Japanese students' use of will power and memorization…

Three former secretaries of education--William Bennett, Lauro Cavazos, and Terrel Bell--have touted state-level SAT scores as proof that educational financing does not matter. Recently, Brian Powell and Lala Carr Steelman adjusted scores for participation rate and detected a very strong relationship between expenditures and SAT scores. Bigger…

Examines recent standardized test scores, international comparisons, National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, and dropout statistics to prove that U.S. schools are making progress. When appropriate comparisons are made, only a small decline in SAT verbal scores is found and no decline in math scores. Greater priority should be given the…

Despite Commissioner Pascal Forgione's claims (in the June 1998 "Kappan"), the final-year Third International Mathematics and Science Study obviates comparison of achievement across nations. Comparers are engaging in a political exercise. There are problems with age, cultural, and enrollment-rate differences; definition of the U.S.…