The Answer Sheet: pisa rankings


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 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