Transcript Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World

Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S.
Students Receive a World-Class Education
Presentation to the North Carolina Accountability Conference
February 18, 2009
Ilene Berman
Program Director, Education Division
National Governors Association
Center for Best Practices
• Call to Action
• Recommendations for
State Action and
Federal Support
Developed by
Advisory Group
• Published by the
National Governors
Association, Council
of Chief State School
Officers and Achieve,
Inc.
Why Is International Benchmarking Important?
• Students are competing in a global economy
• Increased demand for higher skills
• Opportunities to learn from other countries’
policies and practices
• Tackling the equity issues is critical
It’s All in the Data
• U.S. showed gains in math (TIMSS 2007)
• U.S. performance on PISA performed below average in science
and way below in math (2006)
• American 15-year-olds ranked 25th in math and 21st in science
achievement on PISA (2006)
• U.S. had the third highest gap in science scores between
students from different socioeconomic groups (TIMSS 2006)
• GDP would increase an additional 5 percent in 32 years from
now if U.S. performance on international tests were at the level
of top-performing countries
• College graduation rates dropped from 1st (1995) to 14th (2006)
A world of change in baseline qualifications
Approximated by percentage of persons with high school or equivalent
qualifications
in the age groups 55-64, 45-55, 45-44 and 25-34 years (2006)
%
1
13
1
27
1. Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes
3. Including some ISCED 3C short programmes
2. Year of reference 2004
3. Year of reference 2003.
College-level Graduation Rates
Percentage of tertiary type A graduates to the
population at the typical age of graduation
70
2005
1995
60
50
40
30
20
10
Turkey
Slovenia1
Germany1
Austria1
Czech Republic4
Greece
Switzerland
Portugal1
Spain1
United States
Israel1
EU19 average
Japan
Hungary
OECD average
Sweden1
Ireland
United Kingdom
Norway1
Italy
Slovak Republic1
1.
Netherlands1
Poland
Denmark1
Finland1,2
New Zealand1
Iceland1
Australia1
0
Net graduation rate is calculated by summing the graduation rates by single year of age in
2005.
2. Year of reference 2004.
Comparing North Carolina with Nations
and Other States in Percentage of
College Degree Attainment (ages 25-34)
Myths about International
Comparisons
• Other countries test a more select, elite group of students
• The U.S. performs poorly because of poverty and other
family factors
• Cultural factors prevent U.S. students from performing as
well as those in other nations
• Other countries are less diverse
• U.S. attainment rates cannot be compared with other
countries
• Wealthier countries spend more than the U.S. on education
• Education does not affect the economy
Actions States Can Take to Benchmark Their
Systems
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Upgrade state standards by adopting a common core of
internationally benchmarked standards in math and
language arts for K-12
Leverage states’ collective influence to ensure that
textbooks, digital media, curricula, and assessments are
aligned to internationally benchmarked standards
Revise state policies for recruiting, preparing, developing
and supporting teachers and school leaders
Hold schools and systems accountable through monitoring,
interventions and support to ensure consistently high
performance
Measure state-level education performance globally by
examining student achievement and attainment
The Federal Government’s Role
• Offer new funding or allow existing funds to be used to
help underwrite the cost for states to implement the
recommendations
• Increase the federal government’s investment or focus
existing resources toward better research & development
• Offer a range of tiered incentives for states
• Change existing federal laws to align national education
policies with lessons learned from states and federal
research funds
Download the report
http://nga.org/Files/
pdf/0812BENCH
MARKING.PDF