US students lag in international tests

Students from the United States continue to lag behind many other nations on a global exam taken every three years, a trend that often is blamed on child poverty and low academic standards.

US students that took part in the 2012 exam showed little improvement over three years, failing to score in the top 20 on math, reading or science, according to test results released Tuesday.

US Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the test results a �œpicture of educational stagnation.”

About half a million 15-year-old students in 65 nations took part in a global exam called the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which is coordinated by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

At the top of the rankings are Asian countries including China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.

The poor US results have raised concerns again about the country�™s education system.

�œAmericans have got a thousand reasons that one country after another is surpassing our achievement, and I have yet to find a good excuse,” said Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy.

National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said among the Asian nations dominating the test, �œThe one thing they all have in common is that they make a real commitment to education for all kids, and nothing deters them from that vision, and then they do what�™s necessary to make that happen. In the United States, we don�™t have the commitment for all kids and it needs to change.”

AHT/ARA