Facts on Our Educational Achievement

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	One in seven American students does not graduate from high school; (Click here for details.)  (Requires Adobe Acrobat software)
	The Third International Mathematics and Science Study among 41 nations, including our country's major trading partners, shows disturbing trends:   (Click here for details.)  (Requires Adobe Acrobat software) In the fourth grade, among 26 participating nations, U.S. students scored above the international average in both science (outperformed only by Korea) and mathematics (outperformed by 7 countries). In the eighth grade, among 41 participating nations, U.S. students scored above the international average in science and below the international average in mathematics. Compared to Germany and Japan the U.S. eighth grade mathematics curriculum was judged less advanced based on the topics covered and time devoted to each topic. The content being taught in U.S. eighth grade mathematics classrooms is at about a seventh grade level in comparison to other countries. New teachers in the U.S. receive less on-the-job training and mentoring than do new teachers in Japan and Germany. At the end of secondary schooling, U.S. 12th graders scored below the international average and among the lowest of the 21 participating nations in both mathematics and science general knowledge. (The U.S. outperformed only South Africa and Cyprus on both assessments.) U.S. 12th grade students who had taken or were taking pre-calculus, calculus, or AP calculus were compared to advanced mathematics students in 16 other countries. The U.S. outperformed no other country. Only 7% of age cohort of U.S. 12th grade students were taking or had taken a calculus class, versus 16 percent in Canada, 20 percent in France and 33 percent in Austria. U.S. 12th grade students who had taken or were taking physics or AP physics were compared to advanced science students in other countries. The U.S. outperformed no other country.
	The U.S. is unique in its reliance on decentralized educational governance.  No other economically advanced nation has a school system as decentralized as the U.S. Most have a national system of education with centrally determined curriculums, graduation standards, staffing and pay policies. (Click here for details)
	Our students perform well in basic reading literacy. (Click here for details) In an international assessment of basic reading literacy, 9-year-olds from the United States performed better, on average, on the narrative domain than students from other large countries. At age 14, students in the United States scored higher, on average, on the expository domain than students of similar ages in Italy, West Germany, and Spain.
	Overall educational attainment is high in the U.S. Similar or higher percentages of 25- to 64-year-olds in the United States completed secondary and higher education compared to their counterparts in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada in 1995. Individuals 25 to 34 years old in Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada completed secondary education at rates similar to their counterparts in the United States. (Click here for details.)

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