The two best tools for evaluating U.S. students against their global peers are the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

  • Trendwise, the U.S. is losing ground to other nations. In the 1960s, the U.S. led the world in percentage of citizens with a high school diploma. We’ve dropped to No. 13 in the world, while South Korea zoomed from 27th to 1st.
  • The average math score of  U.S. 4th-graders was higher than students in 23 of 35 other countries, lower than those in 8 countries and not measurably different from 4 countries, according to 2007 TIMSS results.
  • The U.S. ranked 36th out of 57 countries in percentage of 15 year olds who are proficient in science, according to the 2006 PISA results.