Test Scores

I recently found an article about how U.S. students are scoring lower on tests than students in other countries such as Finland, China, and Estonia. "American children aren't necessarily getting smarter or dumber, but that might not be good enough to compete globally." This sentence struck me in particular and I thought:

Why do Americans feel they always have to be better than everyone else?

Since when do children have to "compete globally" with other children academically?

So what if American students are not number one in every subject. It doesnt mean that the children in the other countries are going to make more money when they grow up, as people seem to think school and future salaries are so connected. Sure, good students might be more likely to do well, but a few points on a test doesnt determine their future.

The writer mentions that our economy is in a poor state, and better educating our children might fix it. Improvement never hurts, but our country has a fine education system and higher scores on math and science tests for fourth graders isnt going to fix our economy.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/25/students.science.math/index.html

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