Re the international student test scores cited by Chris: http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/map-smartcountries/
Does anyone have any idea how they make the comparisons between countries? I noticed a slight anomaly in the figures for mathematics for the US and England: England 2003 International mathematics test ranking: England - 17th, score 498: (tied with Scotland) United States 2003 International mathematics test ranking: 17th, score: 504 So the US and England both came 17th, but the US scored slightly higher. Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that in the past England was comfortably above the US in maths. (When I was lived for a couple of years in LA about 30 years ago, I tutored first year College students who were at UCLA and USC, and the maths they were doing -- algebra and calculus -- was about the level of the UK pre-University 'A Level'.) That England is now slightly behind the US says something about the sad decline in standards in the last couple of decades in England. Nevertheless, pass grades at A level go up year by year, a phenomenon you may be familiar with -- grade inflation. That keeps everybody happy -- the government can claim credit for the continuing 'rise' in standards, teachers for working so hard to produce the good results, and, of course, school students are pleased to get good grades. Checking on Canada, I notice that for reading, Quebec ranks well below the English-speaking Alberto, British Columbia and Ontario. Presumably the Quebec students are tested for reading in their first language, namely of course, French. So do we have an illustration here of an oppressed minority struggling to achieve minimal standards of education? -:) Seriously, any explanation from you folks from north of the border? Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org ---
