Comparing the performance of the U.S. education system to other countries is anything but straightforward. Take for example math. How well does the U.S. perform in math compared to other countries? You probably heard something along the lines of:
U.S. students scored below the international average in math and ranked 25th out of 34 industrialized countries.
But you also may have heard:
U.S. students scored above the international average in math and performed as well or better than all but five countries.
Each statement casts a dramatically different light on the state of our education system. Yet both statements are accurate. So what should you think about how U.S. students really compare internationally when the facts are so radically different?
Jim McLaughlin's Blog 