What do the high performing nations of the world have that the U.S. lacks? Rich, deep academic content, according to a new report.
“Each of the nations that consistently outrank the United States on the PISA exam provides their students with a comprehensive, content-rich education in the liberal arts and sciences,” writes Lynne Munson, the executive director of Common Core in Why We’re Behind, a study that compares America’s educational quality to Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands and Switzerland.
The nine nations studied differ greatly in how they deliver their broad, rich curricula. “Some have a national curriculum and standards but no tests,” Munson notes. “Others have both, and some leave everything up to the states. Interestingly, no state-based nation in our sample currently has a national curriculum or standards, though one is attempting to develop some.”
So what is the common ingredient across these varied nations? It is not a delivery mechanism or an accountability system that these high-performing nations share: it is a dedication to educating their children deeply in a wide range of subjects.
It’s not possible to prove with absolute certainty that there is a cause and effect link between the content taught in high-performing nations and their performance on the PISA exam, Munson notes. ”But, considering these nations’ enormous geographic, demographic, cultural, and governmental differences what other explanation could there be?” Common Core’s report calls for more research into the relationship between content and achievement. “This research should be done now because if what this report suggests is true—that a comprehensive, content-rich curriculum is the key to high achievement—than we have a lot of work to do here in the United States,” she concludes.
What do we have that better performing nations lack? Data, perhaps. And if we’re reading it right, it’s telling us we need to start spending a little more of our ed reform capital looking at what our children are actually doing in class, and a little less time on structural issues. If you want to fatten the calf, surely we can do better than our present steady diet of thin gruel in between all those weighings.
Do you have a link to their report? I can’t seem to find it on their website.
I’m assuming it’ll be posted after their event this afternoon in DC to discuss the findings. I’ve emailed Lynne Munson for a link. In the meantime, I’ll email you a copy. (If anyone else needs it, email me at rpondiscio@aol.com)
Well-said, Robert.
Well the news of this PISA report will certainly start another round of hand wringing by US educational experts concerned with test compentancy of teenagers. Is there any correlation between test compentancy of teenagers and later life achievement. It would seem that those who are bright will let their light shine before men regardless of test scores. Isnt it true that many of the most successful US people were mediocre students.
I taught in the South Korean school system as a Peace Corps Volunteer many years ago and I’m now a teacher in a Minnesota School district. What we have that South Korea does not is a very diverse student population with multiple languages. This year, in one of my school’s kindergarten classes of 22 students, eleven of the students spoke a different language and the languages represented by those eleven were spanish, nuer, hmong, somali and vietnamese.
One school I visited in Osaka, Japan in mid ’90s the students all wore uniforms and their behavior was well regimented. The Japanese culture seems to be one of conformity all the way thru adult. Similar behavior can be seen at Univ’s in Germany such as Karlsruhe where highly structured hierarchal control pervails. To me the differences in student performance is related to culture and societal expectations. Perhaps the US melting pot has lost the sense of culture that more homogenous societies have developed.
I agree, Walt, and sadly what common culture we do have seems to be supplied by Budweiser ads, iPod hype, obnoxious professional sports, TV programs appealing to the Id in all of us, and the like (there are small exceptions). Innovation-mania in America leads us to trash the Old –old urban cores, old industries, old people, and old modes of education –even if the old is damn good. Most great civilizations –China, Judaism, Northern European –evolve slowly within a framework of carefully preserving and transmitting worthy traditions. We raze the past and build crappy-but-shiny-and-”nice” McMansions.
Genius does not need instruction to flourish; diverse student population and many languages; hierarchy and uniforms; influences from the popular culture–These are only a few of the many excuses we use to justify the conscious choice NOT to teach, as Robert put it, a “comprehensive, content-rich curriculum.”
This choice embodies a serious under-estimation of children’s capabilities and potential.
It is interesting to note Australia ranks above the US. However it significantly ranks below the top PISA nations I believe. I wouldn’t wish my state’s curriculum documents on anyone. They are vague, very general, full of jargon and difficult to use for assessment purposes. Australian schools share a lot of the complexity and cultural ‘problems’ that Ben F and julie alluded to. Our school year seems to be longer. The public schools are controlled by the state government with variable parent and local input. Sport is an important part of school life in that everyone is given opportunities to participate. However school teams don’t really play for the glory of their school as seems to be common in the US.