LOTS OF OLYMPIC GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS FOR THE U.S., BUT NO MEDALS IN MATH, SCIENCE AND READING

In the world of competing economies, those Olympic medals do not count for anything

The U.S. won the most gold medals and the most medals overall in the London Olympic Games, clobbering our global adversaries China and Russia in the process. With all the hoopla over our Olympic triumphs about to end, it’s time to look at what is really important.

Every three years the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is headquartered in Paris, gives tests in math, science and reading to high school students in the 34 countries that are members of OECD. While the test results for this year are not yet available, there is no reason to believe the performance of America’s students will be much different from what it was in past years.

In all, 470,000 students worldwide took the exam. In the U.S., 165 public and private schools and 5,233 students participated in the two-hour paper- and-pencil assessment, given in September and November 2009. It consisted of multiple-choice and open-response questions. China’s Shanghai region topped every country in all academic categories. Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, all outpaced the U.S., as did Finland.

Students in the U.S. ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading.

U.S. students had an average score of 487 in math on a 1,000-point scale. Shanghai students scored 600, Singapore, 562; South Korea, Hong Kong, 555; Finland, 541. The U.S. is traditionally ranked against other OECD countries. On an absolute basis, students from 24 of 34 OECD countries had higher scores than U.S. students, and the U.S. Department of Education noted that 17 were better on a statistically significant basis.

The average U.S. science score of 502 ranks 17th in the OECD nations, which were led by Finland, Japan and South Korea. Twelve scores were statistically better, the Education Department said. Shanghai students scored 575. The U.S., which scored 489 in 2006, ranked 21st among 30 OECD countries that year.

The average U.S. reading score of 500 ranked 14th among OECD countries, which were led by South Korea, Finland and Canada. Only six had scores that were better statistically, the Education Department said. Shanghai students scored 556.

If our test scores do not improve significantly in math, science and reading, the U.S. will not be able to compete in a global economy. We can toot our horns over all the Olympic medals the U.S. won till the cow jumps over the moon , but in the world of competing economies, those medals do not count for shit!