[Enjoymmsq]

One of the things I noticed is that much of the US data in the study comes from a survey conducted of students.

However, I am unable to locate information as to how the WHO Health Behaviour in School-age Children study cited on page 19 of the UNICEF report (PDF) was conducted within the US. It is likely that public schools were easily recruited, but I wonder as to the comprehensiveness of the private and homeschool coverage.

After all, up to 13% of American school-age children are not educated in government schools. This is an expensive proposition: without vouchers, people who send their children to private schools still pay property taxes (through PITI, a direct bill, or as part of rent expense) in addition to the thousands spent on the schools themselves. My daughter's kindergarten will cost us $7,000 this upcoming school year, including books, uniform, etc.

And I consider that a bargain. Really. One school had a tuition of $12k, prior to fees, books, and uniforms. For prices like that, they'd better guarantee an Ivy League acceptance letter, or your money back.

And private schools are usually not required to take part in WHO surveys, and most of them won't. And the 2% of American kids who are homeschooled aren't even touched.

So the US section of this survey is likely skewed away from the large portion (1 out of every 7) of the American population wealthy enough to pay for two schools - their own kids' and the public school supported by their residence taxes. It is skewed away from a significant percentage of the population who do have "more than 10 books in their home", who do "take more vacation time with the children", who are above average in literacy, math, computer competency, and the like.

Here's an Excel Sheet showing public and private school enrollment, by income level, in the US.

No wonder we tend to come in low on these things... they miss the larger portion of American kids who go to Ivy League schools in the first place.