PISA
Curriculum
Opinion
National Standards, Local Control
I believe that local educators should be told what to produce, and then they should be turned loose to do it.
Education
U.S. Improves Education Equity, International PISA Report Shows
Countries that consistently top U.S. performance in the Program for International Student Assessment also have more equitable education systems, but American schools are making progress, according to a new study.
Federal
Individual U.S. Schools Take Part in PISA Pilot
The schools will see how they stack up against other countries' in their higher-order thinking skills in reading, math, and science.
Federal
Opinion
Peddling Panic: Biased Survey Promotes National Science Standards
Guest post by Jack Hassard.
Achieve, Inc. stands to make a lot of money for its work creating new science standards. It might not surprise us, therefore, that a survey they commissioned favors the adoption of these standards. But we need to look at these results with skepticism. Does US competitiveness depend on our rankings on test scores? And will new standards make us better?
Achieve, Inc. stands to make a lot of money for its work creating new science standards. It might not surprise us, therefore, that a survey they commissioned favors the adoption of these standards. But we need to look at these results with skepticism. Does US competitiveness depend on our rankings on test scores? And will new standards make us better?
Assessment
Opinion
The Brown Center Report: When Will American Researchers Take on the Issues That Really Matter?
Marc Tucker responds to Tom Loveless' recent take on interpreting international test scores.
Assessment
NAEP Would Slip, PISA Gain in 2013 Budget Plan
The Obama administration aims to cut $6 million from the "nation's report card," and boost aid to another testing initiative.
Curriculum
Opinion
Resilience and the Disadvantaged Student
Marc Tucker examines the OECD data on disadvantaged students who succeed in school.
School & District Management
Opinion
Jack Hassard: We Have Low Expectations for American Students in Math & Science
Guest post by Jack Hassard
Who the #@!% would make such a statement? Why would such a statement be made about America's youth?
Who the #@!% would make such a statement? Why would such a statement be made about America's youth?
Assessment
Opinion
American Exceptionalism
Marc Tucker responds to the argument of American exceptionalism.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Do You Believe in Miracles?
There are no silver bullets in education. There are no magic feathers that enable elephants like Dumbo to fly. It's hard work to improve schools. It takes dedication, resources, and time. And the work is never done, the magic number of 100 percent is always out of reach.
Assessment
Opinion
Kick-Off
NCEE President Marc Tucker kicks-off his new blog, "Top Performers", and explains why international education benchmarking is so important.
Federal
Opinion
America Leads the World in Nonsensical Comparisons: What Really Matters?
Efforts to improve our schools have always been spurred on by comparisons between our nation and others, which usually find us somewhere in the middle of the pack. In the 1950s the Russians were winning the space race because Ivan studied 12 hours a day, while his American counterpart goofed off at the soda parlor. In 1983, once again, the nation was "at risk" because we had allowed our standards to fall so low.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
What Can We Learn From Finland?
Finland rightly deserves attention today as a nation that treats its children as a precious resource and that honors the adults who make education their passion and their career.
Federal
News in Brief
Financial Literacy Added to PISA
A prominent international assessment of student achievement will include a new topic—financial literacy—when the testing regime is next administered, with results to be released in 2013.