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Fact or Fiction: U.S. Students Fall Behind World Pace
on May 18, 2009
The Obama administration has repeatedly told parents that their kids aren't spending enough time in school and don't score high enough on international contents compared to their peers in other countries. But that's not exactly true.
While only about one-third of U.S. students read and solved math problems at their grade level on national tests in 2007, they are misrepresented in international comparisons, reports The Boston Globe.
Fiction: President Barack Obama says that U.S. students have fallen behind other developed countries, and even in developing countries, especially in math and science.
Fact: Students do fall behind the nations that score the best, mostly developed nations in Asia such as Taiwan and Japan, but they keep pace with developed countries in Europe.
Fiction: The president claims that U.S. children spend more than a month less in school than South Korean children.
Fact: The average U.S. eighth-grader spends 1,146 hours in school annually, while South Korean students spend 923 hours a year, despite having a longer school year.
For the complete story, visit The Boston Globe.
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