The problem with American education is American poverty.

Every time the latest international tests results are released, people moan about the low scores of American students. On average, we score poorly. A year or so later they release enough information that we can see the scores for subgroups. This never gets as much publicity. But the results are pretty consistent, American education is doing a great job with what it has to work with. The problem isn't American education, the problem is American poverty.

In Math, our overall average is 470 (40th out of 73), below the OECD average of 490. But if you look at students in schools with less than 10% free/reduced lunch, their average is 530, good for 7th overall. Our next tier of students, 10-25% free/reduced lunch have an average of 514, putting them 11th overall.

In Reading, our overall average is 497 (24th out of 73), just above the OECD average of 493. The 10% or less kids score 548, putting them 1st in the world. The 10-25% kids were at 542, also putting them 1st in the world (only behind out 10% or less students). Our 25-50% free/reduced lunch students scored a 515, good for 8th (or 10th if you include our other two groups).

In Science, our overall score is 496 (25th out of 73), just above the OECD average of 493. The 10% score is 553, 2nd in the world. 10-25% get 546, also 2nd. The 25-50% group has an average of 518, tied for 10th (or 12th if you include our other two groups).

Now these aren't apples to apples comparisons because we aren't breaking out the rich kids in the other countries. But we know that inequality in the US is far greater than inequality in the other countries at the top of the rankings. Those other countries put a lot more effort into mitigating the effects of poverty on children. Their higher and lower SES students do not perform as differently as ours do. When researchers who have access to data from other countries do similar comparisons, they find that our students, at every breakdown of demographics, are at or near the top in every subject.

The problem with American education isn't in American schools or teachers, it is in American communities and families. The problem with American education is American poverty.

Submitted February 01, 2019 at 05:20PM by philnotfil http://bit.ly/2SqbMXA