"PISA is a triennial survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds. It is the product of collaboration between participating countries and economies through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and draws on leading international expertise to develop valid comparisons across countries and cultures.More than 400 000 students from 57 countries making up close to 90% of the world economy took part in PISA 2006. The focus was on science but the assessment also included reading and mathematics and collected data on student, family and institutional factors that could help to explain differences in performance. This report summarises the main findings."
I am always enthusiastic about the effort to measure that which is important (like reading) and therefore scrutinize reports such as these for what they might tell us. On the other hand, having authored, administered or participated in many such multinational studies, I am also very alert to issues of data integrity and comparability (are apples being compared to apples) and therefore remain cautiously skeptical about what they really can actually tell us.
In this PISA study, unfortunately, it appears that the USA did not participate in the reading section of the study. One item in particular, though, grabbed my attention.
Across the OECD area, reading performance generally remained flat between PISA 2000 and PISA 2006. This needs to be seen in the context of significant rises in expenditure levels. Between 1995 and 2004 expenditure per primary and secondary student increased by 39% in real terms, on average across OECD countries.
Time and again we have seen within the USA that, above a certain minimum, increased expenditures do not particularly correlate with improved results. Given the disparate nature of American culture and the profound freedom of choice experienced here, in education as in many other arenas, compared to other countries, it is interesting to see that this lack of correlation is true internationally as well.