Poverty’s Effect on U.S. Scores Greater Than for Other Nations

Not only did many industrialized countries outperform the United States in science on a recent international exam, but American students’ academic achievement was also more likely to be affected by their wealth or poverty and family background than was their peers’ in higher-scoring nations.

That was one of several sobering findings for the United States included in the results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment , or PISA, released this week. The program showed U.S. students lagging behind a majority of participating developed nations in both science and mathematics.

American students ranked lower in science—the subject tested in the most depth on this PISA—than their peers in 16 other industrialized nations, out of 30...