It is not all about SES

[Anonymous]

Another possible factor: does the test actually test what it is supposed to test--i.e. what does it measure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No child should go hungry. However, people need to acknowledge that you don't build wealth on welfare.

Also admit, the more you feed, clothe, house, cater to a certain increasingly welfare dependent demographic type, the more you create and attract, in our case, they come from far and wide. To fairfax and MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harpers Magazine (the one with the essays) had a great article about this a few years ago. The premise was that most countries who do well on these tests offer free preschool, health care and food. Many many kids in the US start school unprepared because they can't afford decent pre-school, go to school hungry and are sick with no healthcare.

US kids don't start on the same playing field.

The US does not invest in education. The achievement gap is not to blame. You have Scott Walker who wants to cut the University of Wis system by $300M. Repubs push back on education spending. I won't even blame it on the Repubs b/c Dems don't really advocate for it either. Where are our state of the art programs, summer programs, making teaching as appealing as medicine instead of fighting the unions? Teaching is not where most students go. Many of us wanted to make money, not suffer financially and then be disrespected in the process.

Actually the US spends significantly more per student than almost every country you mentioned. What those countries have is a generally homogeneous high performing population.

On education, but are you suggesting there is universal preschool and healthcare that would ensure kids are ready to learn when they get to school??? Crickets...

[Anonymous]

What those countries have is a generally homogeneous high performing population.

No. They simply don't test all their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harpers Magazine (the one with the essays) had a great article about this a few years ago. The premise was that most countries who do well on these tests offer free preschool, health care and food. Many many kids in the US start school unprepared because they can't afford decent pre-school, go to school hungry and are sick with no healthcare.

US kids don't start on the same playing field.

The US does not invest in education. The achievement gap is not to blame. You have Scott Walker who wants to cut the University of Wis system by $300M. Repubs push back on education spending. I won't even blame it on the Repubs b/c Dems don't really advocate for it either. Where are our state of the art programs, summer programs, making teaching as appealing as medicine instead of fighting the unions? Teaching is not where most students go. Many of us wanted to make money, not suffer financially and then be disrespected in the process.

Actually the US spends significantly more per student than almost every country you mentioned. What those countries have is a generally homogeneous high performing population.

On education, but are you suggesting there is universal preschool and healthcare that would ensure kids are ready to learn when they get to school??? Crickets...

Neither of those have been shown to make a difference. The Headstart program has been a complete failure; any gains from preschool fade within a year or two. Not that it will stop people from throwing money at it.