The Sum Of Mediocrity In Math, Americans Finish Way Out Of The Money
Zj;!7ZuT1 X(\RA.64 TIME FOR ANOTHER GLOBAL-COMPETITIVENESS alert. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study--which last year tested a half-million students in 41 countries--American eighth graders scored below the world average in math. And that's not even the worst part. Consider this as you try to figure out which countries will dominate the technology markets of the 21st century: the top 10 percent of America's math students scored about the same as the average kid in the global leader, Singapore.
y (A"g3^= y8@!2O4 It isn't exactly a news flash these days when Americans score behind the curve on international tests. But educators say this study is important because it monitored variables both inside and outside the classroom. Laziness--the factor often blamed for Americans' poor performance--is not the culprit here. American students actually spend more time in class than pupils in Japan and Germany. Not only that, they get more homework and watch the same amount of TV. (Many Japanese students spend three hours a night soaking up ""Seinfeld'' and ""Hercules,'' too.) The problem, educators say, is not the kids but a curriculum that is too easy. The study found that lessons for U.S. eighth graders contained topics mastered by seventh graders in other countries. ""Most of our students have not even been exposed to the material on this test,'' complains Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. Adds Pascal Forgione Jr., head of the National Center for Educational Statistics: ""We expect less from our students, and they meet our expectations.''
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