Dare to Compare; Really?

Is comparing U.S. High School Test Scores to Scores of Schools Abroad Fair?

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #131 – April 28, 2015

I recently attended the National Conference for Future Educators of America.  I was amazed at the ability and confidence displayed by so many potential teachers. The keynote speaker was, Amanda Ripley, author of, The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way. Although she never explained, “how they got that way,” she was sure to point out how United States high school students score so far below many foreign countries in reading and math. This is a favorite point of journalists to get Americans all riled up about why our students just aren’t measuring up academically to students in the rest of the world.

What we aren’t told, is that the comparison is not a fair one.  To use a cliché’, it’s pretty much like comparing apples to oranges.

The United States, being the great democracy we are, believes every child is entitled to an education at an academic high school.  This notion really kicked in during the late 1960’s, coincident with the Civil Rights Movement.  Prior to that, it was common to include business and technical tracks in high schools for students who preferred to get a head start toward a job or profession they desired to enter.  Due to this and many other changes made to provide equal opportunities for all, when academic tests are given, all students take those tests.  This includes mentally challenged children and children that barely speak English. All students are included in the national test scores.

In countries abroad, the academic high school population has been well vetted.  You might say, their high school students are the academic “cream of the crop”.  Following are a few examples.

One of the top countries everyone is looking at today, due to high scores on high school examinations is Finland. Admission to academic upper schools in Finland, is based on GPA, and in some cases academic tests and interviews. For example, during the year 2007,  51% of the age group were enrolled in the academic upper school. This means, 49% were not admitted to their academic high schools.  Hmmm, how much could 49%, if included in the testing, have changed the scores?

Almost all Asian countries require an entrance exam for students wishing admittance to an academic high school.  In Singapore, hopeful students take the PSLE, Primary School Leaving Exam, in order to be admitted into an academic high school.  In Japan, students in junior high school must take the Center Exam National Test to get into the academic high school of their choice.  Once a student gets to high school, they are usually set on a specific path to certain universities (or no university at all). As such, the high school entrance exam is something not taken lightly.  In Hong Kong, students must pass the Hong Kong Certificate of Examination in order to attend an academic high school. Obviously, students not bright enough to pass these tests are not admitted to high school and therefore are not included in later high school test scores.

In Israel, junior high school aged students take the PET, Psychometric Entrance Test, a tool for predicting academic performance.  This test will determine the type of high school (i.e., academic or trade oriented), a student will be admitted to.

Similar requirements are true in most of the developed countries in the world.  Our counterparts in the U.K. require students to pass the CEE, Common Entrance Examinations in order to attend an academic high school.  In Australia, students must pass exams such as the VCE, Victorian Certificate of Education, given in Victoria, Australia. Again, 8^th grade students who don’t pass these tests, go elsewhere and are not included the high school test scores.

Now you know the relevance of the apples to oranges reference.  This does not mean all is good with the learning going on at U.S. High Schools.  We still have much work to do.  However, next time you see a comparison of U.S. high school performance to performance of high schools abroad, please consider the ingredients that have gone into the final product.