Federal

Top-Achieving Nations Beat U.S. States in Math and Science

By Sean Cavanagh — November 13, 2007 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Students in the highest-performing U.S. states rank well below their peers in the world’s top-achieving countries in mathematics and science skill, according to a new study that judges American youths on an international scale.

The study, published Nov. 14 by the American Institutes for Research, compares the performance of 8th graders in individual American states not against each other, but against students in top-performing foreign nations, such as Japan and South Korea, as well as against children in recent lower-scoring ones, such as Bulgaria, Jordan, and Romania.

The analysis found that, on the one hand, most American states are performing as well as, or better than, most foreign nations in the study in math and science.

But it also concludes that even students in states such as Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Dakota, which have scored well on recent U.S. exams, do not match students in top-performing foreign countries.

The study’s comparison uses a statistical model to link U.S. students’ science results from 2005 and math scores from 2007 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress with the country-by-country results on the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a prominent international exam known as TIMSS.

Gary W. Phillips, a chief scientist at the Washington-based AIR, took the results of two separate tests and came up with a common method for judging states and nations. His study projects NAEP achievement levels—specifically, the percentage of students scoring at or above the “proficient” level—on the TIMSS scale.

The analysis allows states to “monitor progress toward improved science and mathematics achievement while seeing how they stack up within an international context,” the report says. “This strategy is analogous to converting world currencies to dollars as an external benchmark for tracking local economic progress.”

Releases of NAEP test scores are closely scrutinized by state leaders, who typically greet them with varying degrees of pride or dismay, depending on whether their students scores rise or fall and on how well they fare relative to other states. Mr. Phillips, in an interview with reporters, said he hoped state officials would be similarly motivated by his state-to-nation comparisons, at a time when many U.S. education and business leaders fret about students’ ability to compete in the future, global economy.

‘Do What We Do Better’

The study compares most of the 50 American states and the District of Columbia with foreign nations in both math and science. A few states are not ranked in science, because they did not take part in the 2005 NAEP in science, a subject in which participation is voluntary.

One of the states that fare well in the study is Massachusetts, which in 8th grade math is shown to rank ahead, by a statistically significant margin, of all but four countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. The state ranks at a statistically similar level to Japan, and its performance is better than the 41 remaining nations in that category.

By contrast, 17 nations, including Australia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia, top Alabama’s performance in 8th grade math in the study. Ten countries perform at levels similar to Alabama’s showing, and 19 nations rank below the state, including Botswana, Chile, Egypt, and Norway.

Mr. Phillips called the findings “a mixed bag,” though he added that “the bad news kind of trumps the good news.” The results demonstrate the need for U.S. policymakers to focus on improving the math and science skills of students, particularly in early grades, he said. Doing so, he argued, will encourage more students to pursue math- and science-related careers, and produce a public that is capable of dealing with daunting challenges facing the United States, and the world, in science, health, and other areas.

“These are complicated problems,” Mr. Phillips said, mentioning climate change and disease prevention as among the concerns. “The solution to them requires that we have a literate citizen-public.”

Vivek Wadhwa, an adjunct professor in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, agreed with the report’s conclusions about the importance for all countries, including the United States, of investing in education. But he also said that many of the countries in the TIMSS study have much smaller populations than the United States, and do less to nurture creative thinking among students across many subjects.

Mr. Wadhwa, now on a fellowship at Harvard University, co-wrote a study last year that argued that fears about China and India producing more engineers than the United States are exaggerated. (“Study: U.S.-Asian Engineering Gap Overstated,” January 4, 2006.)

“If you compare U.S. education on a variety of factors, the picture looks much different,” Mr. Wadhwa said in an e-mail. “Our children are more inquisitive, innovative, and broad-minded” than those from many foreign countries, he added.

“The fact is we have many advantages,” Mr. Wadhwa wrote. “We don’t want our children to be subjected to the rote learning that is common in countries like China and India. We want to do what we do better.”

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar Navigating the Rapid Pace of Education Policy Change: Your Questions, Answered
Join this free webinar to gain an understanding of key education policy developments affecting K-12 schools.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Trump to Schools: Banish 'Equity Ideology' in Discipline
Trump’s latest action continues to take aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
8 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Viral AI Gaffe and Ed. Dept. Cuts: How Educators View Linda McMahon So Far
Here's what educators think about the education secretary's performance so far.
6 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU+GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego on April 8, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU+GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego on April 8, 2025.
Ariana Drehsler for Education Week
Federal Inside Trump's Full-Force Approach to Ban Trans Athletes and DEI in Schools
Trump’s return to the White House has brought a new era of aggressive investigations of entities that flout the president's orders.
8 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The pair were announcing a lawsuit against the state of Maine over state policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Federal Letter to the Editor Public Education Benefits the American Worker and the American Economy
Our nation’s schools are central to our nation’s health and future, says this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week