PISA Study and Results Show American Success Stories Amidst Disappointing Trends in U.S. Average Student Performance

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American students rank 20^th in reading, 19^th in science and 31^st in math compared to students in 35 OECD countries, according to the results from the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PISA is an international survey that evaluates the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds around the world. The assessment has been administered every three years since 2000. The full report is available here.

Jon Schnur, Executive Chairman of America Achieves, will hold a press conference call at 11 a.m. ET followed by a Q&A session to discuss the results and how the country can use them to drive national improvement. To join the conference call, dial 888.632.3385 and provide the conference ID: PISA 2015, or title: PISA Conference – Jon Schnur. 

Today's widely-anticipated release will generate much discussion and concern about the state of our schools. The most important question is how to use the PISA findings and other evidence to strengthen and improve education outcomes for all students.

"While trends in average student performance are disappointing," Schnur said, "this study shows bright spots and progress, not just globally, but right here in the United States – especially for our most disadvantaged students. America's students, families, and educators deserve praise and more support than ever so we can continue this progress."  

Commentary today will focus on the flat performance in U.S. averages in reading and science – and a decline in math performance – but when you look beyond the international rankings, there are important insights on the progress made by U.S. students, families and educators. 

In science, the U.S. leads the world in closing the achievement gap. The weakening of the association between socio-economic status and student performance since 2006 represents the largest improvement in equity among all countries and economies that participated in PISA 2006 and PISA 2015. The study also found that socio-economic status was not the main driver of student performance.

In this study on science achievement, the U.S. was first in the world in increasing the percentage of high-performing, low-income students. In 2006, only 19% of students in the bottom socio-economic quartile performed in the top academic quartile overall. In 2016, that rose to 32%.

Moreover, the study shows an improvement in science achievement for the lowest-achieving students, with an average score increase of 18 points for the bottom decile of students. The U.S. also reduced the percentage of students performing at the lowest level on PISA to 20%, the norm for European and OECD countries. The report says that constitutes a reduction of 4 percentage points in U.S. students achieving at the lowest level and a significant reduction of 6 percentage points when considering demographic changes.  

Meanwhile, an annual PISA-based assessment – the OECD Test for Schools – has identified world-class schools in the U.S. that point the way toward greater improvements. Some of these schools outpace the average performance of nearly every educational system in the world. 

“These schools show we don’t have to go to Korea or Singapore to find high-performing schools. There are world-class schools right here in the U.S. that we can learn from,” added Schnur. “Massachusetts and many top-performing high schools on the OECD Test for Schools show that there is an America version of global excellence.”

Since 2012, more than 400 schools across 32 states, and many more schools outside of the U.S., have participated in the OECD Test for Schools, which measures individual school performance against other countries. Schools that participate in the OECD Test for Schools receive a detailed report identifying strengths, weaknesses and strategies for improvement as well as the opportunity to join the Global Learning Network (GLN). The GLN is a learning community developed by America Achieves made up of educators and district leaders who have taken the assessment, learned from their results, and shifted practices resulting in improved student outcomes.

For more information about the OECD Test for Schools, visit nwea.org/oecdschooltest.

About America Achieves
America Achieves is a unique non-profit accelerator that brings together exceptional educators and other leaders with game changing ideas, results-oriented funding, and strategic and operational support to drive success for students at scale. One of our key initiatives, the Global Learning Network, is a community of school and district leaders who have taken the OECD Test for Schools, learned from their results and global best practices, and are making practice shifts to ensure that each young person is prepared for success in careers, college, and citizenship. Throughout our work, we uncover, examine, and promote approaches and practices that can drive success across entire educational systems, communities, and states. Learn more at www.americaachieves.org.

The OECD Test for Schools is made possible through a partnership between the OECD, creator of the PISA exam and the OECD Test for Schools; America Achieves, a non-profit accelerator that manages the Global Learning Network; and Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a global not-for-profit educational services organization and the U.S. Test Service Provider for the OECD Test for Schools. 

CONTACT:
Elizabeth Baker
[email protected]
713-562-2061

SOURCE America Achieves