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**Aw1HhC0m** · 12-08-2010, 08:18 AM

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...ai-excels.html

Fifteen-year-olds in Asia topped the charts on an international test, raising concern in the U.S. that the nation’s students lag in economic competitiveness.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development, which represents 34 countries, released yesterday the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment. For the first time, the triennial test broke out China’s Shanghai region -- which topped every country, in all academic categories. South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan all outpaced the U.S.

Asian countries and regions benefit from a cultural emphasis on education, investments in teacher quality and equitable funding of schools regardless of family income, Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the test for the Paris-based OECD, said in a telephone interview.

“It is striking,” Schleicher said. “These countries are improving very rapidly.”

China’s success in Shanghai stemmed from the government’s abandonment of a system of “key schools” for elites, and the institution of “a more inclusive system in which all students are expected to perform at high levels,” the OECD said in yesterday’s report.

China also raised teacher pay and standards and reduced rote learning, while giving students and local authorities more choice in curriculum.

“The brutal fact here is there are many countries that are far ahead of us and improving more rapidly than we are,” Duncan said. “This should be a massive wake-up call to the entire country.”

12-08-2010, 08:18 AM	#3
Aw1HhC0m Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 463 Senior Member	http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...ai-excels.html Fifteen-year-olds in Asia topped the charts on an international test, raising concern in the U.S. that the nation’s students lag in economic competitiveness. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development, which represents 34 countries, released yesterday the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment. For the first time, the triennial test broke out China’s Shanghai region -- which topped every country, in all academic categories. South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan all outpaced the U.S. Asian countries and regions benefit from a cultural emphasis on education, investments in teacher quality and equitable funding of schools regardless of family income, Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the test for the Paris-based OECD, said in a telephone interview. “It is striking,” Schleicher said. “These countries are improving very rapidly.” China’s success in Shanghai stemmed from the government’s abandonment of a system of “key schools” for elites, and the institution of “a more inclusive system in which all students are expected to perform at high levels,” the OECD said in yesterday’s report. China also raised teacher pay and standards and reduced rote learning, while giving students and local authorities more choice in curriculum. “The brutal fact here is there are many countries that are far ahead of us and improving more rapidly than we are,” Duncan said. “This should be a massive wake-up call to the entire country.”
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