Education is an important key to unlocking the door to one’s future. Unfortunately, American students have been struggling to improve their scores and make unlocking that door much easier, as test scores for reading, writing, and math have remained idle in the past two decades.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the exam being used to compare international scores around the globe. The results were announced on December 3, 2019, and displayed that two-thirds of American 15-year-olds (the age of all PISA test-takers) weren’t high-level readers yet scored slightly higher than those from other countries; they were below average in math, as well.

For decades, billions of dollars have gone into improving test scores and implementing programs, such as No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and others. Despite the efforts made towards improving the education of US students, results have varied. Education experts suggest that a number of outside factors play a role in the declining performance of students, like low funding, poverty, and a lack of instruction towards basic skills. Nearly twenty percent of America’s 15-year-olds had such low scores that it seemed as if they haven’t mastered fifth-grade skills, according to a test administrator.

As stated by Daniel Koretz, an expert on testing and a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, states and school districts don’t all carry out education initiatives effectively due to a missing national centralized system for educational resources.

Information Source: The New York Times

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