SIZING UP AGAINST INTERNATIONAL COUNTERPARTS



Historically, the United States has been the uncontestable superpower of the world. As a nation, we have largely surpassed our competitors in many arenas. Though we are currently unchallenged both economically and militarily, it is difficult to determine how long we will maintain our status due to educational trends. Contrary to popular belief, the US lags behind many developed countries in areas including math, science, and reading. According to recent research, the American educational system pales in comparison to our international counterparts. Results from the International Mathematics and Science Study as well as the Program for International Student Assessment prove the US to be at a major deficit compared to many other highly industrialized nations. In fact, in the Program for International Student Assessment math test, the US scored an embarrassing 27 of 39 countries. (Hanushek 24:62) Even top scoring US students were largely outperformed by their peers. In addition, the U.S. score in science fell below average, while our problem-solving scores, dropped below averages as well. (Williams, p. 19)

Typically, the attitude of US citizens and officials toward these results is one of indifference. Excusing the results by explaining that "other countries test a more selective group" or that "tests do not match our normal curriculum" merely satisfies our short comings. (Still from that online article) But, these inequities in our public school system should be taken much more seriously. While our leaders are shrugging off such results, opposing nations who fair much better tend to take the international testing results much more seriously. In fact, Hong Kong, which scored tops in math, second in problem solving, third in science, and 10th in reading, aims to make improvements even from such great heights. Highly esteemed Hong Kong Professor Esther Ho Sui-chu suggested that Hong Kong should use the results to examine strengths and improve weaknesses in their educational system. (Ashton, et al., p. 46)

Skills measured in such tests do prove to be enormously reflective of a nation’s economy. They are immensely important to the labor force and have major effects on national economic growth patterns. Increased national education contributes to the expansion of a successful and growing economy. Many suggest that by simply improving American scores to the middle percent of European scores, our economy would experience an annual growth of half of 1%. Though this amount seems extremely insignificant, such a rise would create a $2,000 increase in GDP per person over the course of just 10 years.(Ashton, et al., p.48)

Though much of our population is unaware, rapid increases in education and innovation among US competitors is largely discouraging to the future of America’s economy. In areas of Eastern Asia, Hong Kong and South Korea in particular, years of schooling has nearly doubled since the 1960s. (Ashton, et al., p. 87) In fact, in South Korea, researchers find that,

Similarly, while the United States graduates 2.2 million college graduates, our international competitors, China and India, boast 5.1 million graduates and more than 300,000 more engineers than our own nation. Many US corporations have begun largely outsourcing, and mainly because they can find better-skilled, more productive and more ambitious employees overseas than in America. Bill Gates has begun investing huge amounts in our nation’s public schools because he is “terrified” for the future of America’s work force. He declares that, “in the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.”(Ashton, et al., p.4)