“US Students Improve in International Rankings, But Global Academic Performance Sees Historic Setbacks”
US Students have made strides in reading and math compared to their international peers, as revealed by the results of a globally benchmarked exam. However, this improvement is attributed to the more significant declines observed in other countries.
US Students
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted the first assessment since the start of the pandemic, highlighting historic setbacks in global academic performance.
Peggy Carr, the head of the National Center for Education Statistics, emphasized the results as evidence of a crisis in achievement, recognizing it as a global concern. The international average score in math experienced a 15-point drop, equivalent to three-quarters of a year of learning, while reading scores fell by 10 points, roughly half a year of learning. Notably, such significant changes have not been recorded since the exam’s inception in 2000. Science scores, however, remained relatively stable.
Administered to 15-year-olds in 37 OECD member countries and 44 partner nations in 2022, the test revealed setbacks globally, affecting both wealthy and impoverished nations, including those traditionally recognized for academic excellence. In the United States, scores declined across all three subjects, despite an improvement in international rankings since the previous PISA test in 2018.
Some countries experienced unprecedented drops, such as a 69-point decline in math for Albania, a 39-point drop for Jordan, and a 36-point decrease in math scores for Iceland. The challenges in math were widespread, affecting nations worldwide, including the United States.
On the positive side, Singapore, a renowned education powerhouse, secured the highest scores in all subjects. Other high-performing countries included Japan, China, Estonia, Canada, and Ireland.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona credited the improvement in U.S. scores to the substantial injection of emergency COVID-19 aid for K-12 schools. These funds supported initiatives like tutoring, summer programs, and the hiring of additional teachers. Without this financial support, U.S. students could have fallen further behind. Cardona emphasized that President Biden’s commitment to the American Rescue Plan, the largest investment in education in U.S. history, played a pivotal role in the nation’s improved rankings compared to other countries experiencing declines.
