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News Coverage June 2009

June 29, 2009— Charleston Gazette —“4th-Grade and 8th-Grade Math Scores; W.VA Behind Most States, But Tops Most Countries”
West Virginia and U.S. students outperform most of their peers around the world in mathematics, but their scores still trail several Asian countries, Russia and England. In a recent report, education researchers compared West Virginia's math scores not only with students nationwide, but also with children from Singapore, Hong Kong, Latvia, Denmark, Kuwait, Japan and several other countries. Researchers tied 2007's math results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study exam [TIMSS] with that year's math results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP] exam, a test taken by a sample population of fourth-grade and eighth-grade students in West Virginia. A committee of officials who are affiliated with the National Assessment Governing Board chooses the sample population. State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine sits on the governing board, but not on the committee.

June 24, 2009— Wyoming Eagle-Tribune —“Wyo. Gets C+ in Math”
The United States overall earned just average scores. It lags far behind Asian countries like Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong. "The highest-achieving countries are so far ahead of us, we will never catch up if we run at the current pace," Phillips said. He's concerned that scores drop from fourth to eighth grade in the United States. Wyoming's scores dropped, too. But scores in Asian countries do not. The system uses 2007 results from the National Association of Educational Progress for state scores. International results are based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

June 17, 2009— The Birmingham News —“U.S., Alabama Lagging in Math, Asian Countries Tops Globally; State Behind Almost Every Other”
The United States scores far below top-performing Asian nations in math education, a new report has found. And Alabama scores below almost every other U.S. state, putting students here even further behind the global competition. The study, released Tuesday by the nonpartisan American Institutes for Research, found that math achievement in the U.S., although on par with many European countries, was well behind Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, which collectively led the world in mathematical prowess. Overall, the U.S. received a C+ from researchers in fourth-grade math, and a C in eighth-grade math. Those grades are higher than the international mean but below the top-scoring Asian nations, which received B's and B+s. No country received an A.

June 17, 2009— Education Week —“Study Puts Results of International Tests on Common Metric; U.S. Student Performance Lags Behind Top Nations”
International tests known by odd acronyms like PISA and TIMSS have become fixed in the American educational and political vernacular. Newspaper editorial writers and elected officials at all levels hash over U.S. students' scores on those nation-by-nation exams with a zeal and frequency they once reserved for the release of state and local test results. Now an American researcher has attempted to make those comparisons more meaningful to the public, by comparing the performance of students in U.S. states and cities against that of their foreign peers using a well-understood metric: letter grades. (Subscription Required)

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