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World plays catch-up to U.S. schools
Competitive erosion cited in new OECD report

The latest international survey of education in developed nations is a good news-bad news proposition for U.S. education. The United States still enjoys a competitive advantage in such categories as the percentage of college-educated adults and lifelong education. But many of those advantages are eroding, and the United States is coming up short in other areas, such as problem-solving skills in core subjects.

So says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its 2005 installment of the “Education at a Glance” report, which compares 30 developed nations on topics ranging from access to higher education to teacher salaries. The United States emerges in the report as a nation that for decades has enjoyed a competitive advantage in the “knowledge economy.”

Many of these advantages can be traced back to publicly supported education initiatives such as the G.I. Bill, which gave the nation a major competitive edge at a time when much of the world was rebuilding from a devastating world war. Today, however, other nations are ramping up their commitment to public education, and many of the historical advantages that gave the United States an edge appear to be flagging.

Looking at such benchmarks as the percentage of students who have completed secondary schooling, it becomes clear that “the United States hasn’t declined-—it’s the other nations that have closed the gap,” said Barry McGaw, OECD director for education, who spoke at a special briefing at AFT headquarters Sept. 12, the day before the report was published. The same holds true for such indicators as participation in two- and four-year colleges.

What may be at work, McGaw said, is that the “first-mover advantage” the United States enjoyed after World War II is dissipating; the nation still scores near the top on these measures, but other countries are aggressively plowing resources into catching up.

One area in which the United States continues to gain strength is lifelong learning. “Continuing education in the U.S. is tops,” said McGaw. But in other areas, such as the percentage of 15-year-old students rated proficient in cross-curricular problem solving, the report places the U.S. near the bottom of nations surveyed. The leading countries, based on this gauge, were Finland, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. McGaw said these types of results have led him to suggest to European education ministers that, when it comes to refining their institutions, “They should be looking at East Asia.”

Ordering information and an executive summary of the report is available online at www.oecd.org.

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TRY IT!

BUFFET TABLE Consider setting up a “buffet table” to help students complete tasks as they arrive for class, suggests retired science teacher Thomas Hoolihan of Getzville, N.Y. On his lab table, he would include a name card for each student to drop into the attendance box any handouts, individual notices, corrected homework or test/lab papers, and occasionally a dish of candy for a treat. Within less than a minute after the bell rings, the students are in their seats and ready to begin class, he says.

SEAT CUSHIONS Paula Freeman, a seventh-grade social studies teacher in Penfield, N.Y., has a supply of inexpensive seat cushions that she awards to students who have raised their grade during the marking period or who maintain an A average. She sometimes also “takes back” the cushion for a day to discourage behavior problems. “It has been tremendously successful, and since the cushions can be purchased for a couple of dollars, it has been cost effective as well.”

KEEPING TRACK Tired of constantly counting heads on field trips? Gwen Dixon of Miami, Fla., suggests making nametags that use a number or letter (along with the school address and phone number) in place of the child’s name. On the class list, write each child’s number/letter next to his or her name. Periodically check to see if everyone is still with you by having the kids line up in numerical or alphabetical order. Adult leaders will quickly know if a number or letter is missing and can consult the class list to see who was assigned to that letter.

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