Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060374
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
U.S. PUPILS LAG IN GLOBAL TESTING
An international comparison of schoolchildren shows U.S. pupils performing below average in mathematics and science, a "clear warning" that even good schools are not properly preparing them for world competition, Education Secretary Lamar Alexander said Wednesday.The survey of 175,000 pupils worldwide - which Alexander called "the best international comparison of student abilities in 25 years" - also shows American pupils watching more television and doing less homework than almost all of their counterparts around the world.
Alexander noted that the results show the top 10 percent of American students "can compete with the best students in any country."
However, he said, the results also show that the vast majority of American pupils perform below the international average.
"It means this is not just an inner-city problem or a rural poverty problem," he said. "It's a problem in the suburbs and in the middle-class families all over the country."
Education officials said the $2 million study was designed to answer criticisms of past international comparisons. Notably missing from the list are Japan and Germany, which declined to participate in the survey funded by the U.S. Education Department, the National Science Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation.
The brightest news for the United States were the science scores of 9-year-olds, who performed behind only South Korea and Taiwan, and by only 3 percentage points.
The survey appeared to challenge some notions about what leads to academic success. Small class size, a longer school year and more money spent on books, computers and teachers did not make a notable difference in achievement, according to the survey.
South Korea, which along with Taiwan scored at the top, had 49 pupils in an average class, the largest of any country. Hungarian pupils scored in the top half in math and science, but go to school only 177 days, about the same as Americans and near the bottom of those surveyed. The United States is at or near the top on dollars spent per student.
The study did suggest, however, a correlation between achievement and time spent watching television and doing homework.
In the United States, 22 percent of the 13-year-olds tested in science watched at least five hours of television a day. In South Korea, the top performer, 10 percent watched at least five hours a day; in Taiwan and Switzerland, also at the top, 7 percent watched that much TV.
13-year-old's sample questions
Q: The total weight of three suitcases is 28 pounds. The weight of Terri's suitcase is as much as the weight of the other two suitcases together. What is the weight, in pounds, of Terri's suitcase?
A: 14.
Average correct: 72 percent of all 13-year-olds.
Top-scoring countries: Switzerland had 90 percent; China 88; Korea 85; former Soviet Union 84 and Taiwan 81. The United States had 66 percent.
Q: What is the total surface area of a cube with measurements of 10 centimeters on each side?
A: 600 square centimeters.
Average correct: 33 percent.
Top-scoring countries: China had 54 percent; Italy 53; Taiwan 50; Switzerland 49 and Korea 48. The United States had 32 percent.
Q: Whales, seals, horses and bats are all classified in the same group because they have many of the same characteristics. Which of the following is one of these characteristics: They produce milk to feed their young. They use gills for breathing. They lay eggs. Meat is their main food.
A: They produce milk to feed their young.
Average Correct: 67 percent.
Top-scoring countries: Korea had 91 percent; the former Soviet Union 89; Taiwan 81; Slovenia 80 and Switzerland 79. The United States had 65 percent.