What International Test Scores Tell Us

Thirty years of warnings have not been realized that American students’ low performance on international tests threatens U.S. economic growth . Average national scores on a single test in a single year are inaccurate guides to educational policy. They hide differences in the social class composition of national samples and differences in how disadvantaged and advantaged students in each country perform over time. Further, in a large country such as the United States, where states are in charge of educational systems, performance by students of similar social class background on international tests varies greatly among states. Our examination of international test results finds that U.S. relative performance would seem to be better if U.S. social class composition were similar to that of comparison nations; that U.S. performance on international tests that are aligned with the U.S. curriculum is superior to performance on unaligned tests; and that disadvantaged students in the U.S. have been making more rapid gains than disadvantaged students in nations with higher score levels. All this should make policy makers cautious in jumping to conclusions about the shortcomings of U.S. schools and how to improve them. ᅟ