The Answer Sheet: PISA


Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 01/24/2011

Test scores and economic competitiveness
By Valerie Strauss
What does international economic competitiveness have to do with kids’ test scores? Not much.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 01/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  international competitiveness, international test scores, pisa scores, test scores, u.s. economy

Posted at 04:43 PM ET, 12/14/2010

How Shanghai topped PISA rankings -- and why it's not big news in China
By Valerie Strauss
Q) How did Shanghai students, participating in a high-profile international exam for the first time, able to land at the top of the math, reading and science rankings? A) An obsession with test taking, to the exclusion of a lot of other things. Diane Ravitch and Yong Zhao explain.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:43 PM ET, 12/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests | Tags:  Yong Zhao, diane ravitch, finland and pisa, international test comparisons, international test rankings, international test scores, pisa, pisa rankings, pisa results, shanghai and pisa, shanghai students, u.s. performance on international tests, u.s. performance on pisa

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010

What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools
By Valerie Strauss
An educator explains what the United States can learn from Norway's education system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:14 PM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  OECD, PISA, PISA results, finland education system, finland schools, norway, school reform

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 12/13/2010

Willingham: What causes performance decline across grades?
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist looks at why student performance declines across grades.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  arne duncan, daniel willingham, pirls, pisa, pisa scores, test scores, timss

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 12/12/2010

What international test scores really tell us: Lessons buried in PISA report
By Valerie Strauss
Buried in the data report about the latest international results of PISA are lessons that show how U.S. education policy is failing.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 12/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  PISA, PISA scores, U.S. PISA scores, arne duncan, education policy, how u.s. fares in international rankings, international rankings, international test scores, obama education policy, pisa, the american dream

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010

'If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging'
By Valerie Strauss
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the new PISA results are a "wake up call" for him. But is the call he is hearing the right one?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:00 AM ET, 12/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  PISA scores, arne duncan, nclb, no child left behind, pisa, school reform

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010

How poverty affected U.S. PISA scores
By Valerie Strauss
How did the effects of poverty affect the latest scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  pisa, pisa results, pisa scores, school reform, standardized tests, stephen krashen

Posted at 04:27 PM ET, 12/07/2010

Hysteria over PISA misses the point
By Valerie Strauss
Reaction in the United States to the PISA results -- in which American 15 year olds scored essentially average in reading, math and science -- was swift, sharp, and perhaps hysterical. But it missed the big point: No Child Left Behind didn't do anything to improve things.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:27 PM ET, 12/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests, Standardized Tests | Tags:  international comparisons, nclb, no child left behind, pisa, pisa rankings, pisa reaction, u.s. scoring on pisa, where u.s. ranks in pisa

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 12/07/2010

Sample PISA questions given to 15-year-olds
By Valerie Strauss
Here are some sample questions given to 15-year-old students on the PISA exam. Test yourself.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:30 AM ET, 12/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests | Tags:  international comparisons, pisa, pisa questions, pisa results, sample questions

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/06/2010

Do international test comparisons make sense?
By Valerie Strauss
Tomorrow we will learn the latest results of a major international test, and we can expect a lot of angst over the ranking of U.S. students. Before the hullabalo starts, let's look back at what Gerald Bracey thought about international comparisons. The short answer: Not much.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Standardized Tests | Tags:  gerald bracey, how u.s. students fare internationally, how u.s. students rank, international comparisons, pisa, standardized tests, timss, u.s. comparisons internationally

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010

Radical idea: Public schools aren't an awful mess
By Valerie Strauss
A longtime educator writes about public education: "Backed into a corner, beat up and wildly uneven in quality, yes." But an unmitigated disaster? No.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  ariana huffington, arne duncan, gerald bracey, guest bloggers, hurricane katrina, katrina nation, nancy flanagan, pisa, public education, school reform, teachers, waiting for superman, wendy puriefoy