Stacking up pretty well

When U.S. performance standards are used to measure the mathematics and science skills of 8th graders around the world, students in the United States substantially trail their counterparts in Singapore, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, and Hong Kong but generally are equal to or outperform students in other parts of the world, according to a recent study by the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

The AIR study uses the standards set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to measure how U.S. students compare in mathematics and science with students in other countries, based on data in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The analysis statistically linked the NAEP achievement levels to the TIMSS scale. This then provided estimates of how countries outside the United States that participated in the TIMSS would perform using the NAEP achievement levels.

For further information, visit the AIR website.