Education Olympics 2008: The Games in Review

This report has a simple aim: to present results from international assessments so readers can judge for themselves how American students stack up globally. It's intended to be a stand-alone supplement to the "Education Olympics" web event held between August 8th and August 22nd, 2008 (see edolympics.net). It shows how the U.S. has performed internationally in education in recent years, and it provides a glimpse of how education looks in several top-performing nations. The report examines results from four well-known and generally respected international measures: (1) The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This one covers math and science (like TIMSS), but also evaluates reading literacy and students' ability to apply what they've learned to real-world situations. It's administered to fifteen-year-olds every three years. Data is examined from both the 2003 and 2006 PISA administrations. (2) The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This assessment addresses the knowledge and skills that students have acquired by grade four and eight in math and science. It's administered every four years and we report on the latest year, 2003. [Results from the 2007 administration are not yet available.] (3) The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). This exam covers trends in primary school reading. It's administered every five years and assesses the reading comprehension of students in their fourth year of schooling. Reported is the latest year, 2006. (4) The Civic Education Study (CIVED). This exam is an international assessment of the civic knowledge and skills of 14-year olds (eighth and ninth graders). It also examines student attitudes towards democracy and citizenship and willingness to participate in civic activities. This report examines the results from 1999, the last year it was administered. In addition, two other indicators were examined: (1) upper secondary (what Americans call high school) graduation ates; and (2) the percentage of a country's college-going population that receives bachelor's degrees (international data on this are from 2004). Drawing from these assessments and indicators, the authors developed 58 events, each focused on student performance on sub-tests or for sub-groups. Each event was an opportunity to win a gold, silver, or bronze medal; there were a few ties, which resulted in a total of 190 medals. The top three "medal winners" across all events are Finland (35 medals), Hong Kong (33), and Singapore (16). The United States wins just one medal: a gold for its performance on the Civic Education exam. That gives the U.S. a 20th place finish--below Cyprus, Poland, Slovenia, and the Russian Federation, among others. (Contains 31 tables and 10 footnotes.)