global competition

The results for international assessments on math, science, and reading are in: Students from East Asian countries, along with a select group of European countries, outperformed those in the United States, according to the results for the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), released Dec. 11.

Results from a pair of new international assessments released today show that American kids are holding their own in math, reading and other subjects. In a few cases, they're actually bypassing the rest of the world.

We've all heard plenty about how students in several Asian nations continually outperform their U.S. counterparts on international tests for science, reading, and — especially — math. There is only one Western nation near the top of those rankings year after year, and Finland is an intriguing case.

Ohio’s employers keep a vigilant eye on Ohio’s education system, because that is where the future employees of our companies are being educated. Right now, our companies have thousands of openings they cannot fill because they cannot find young people with adequate educational background and training. This gap has huge consequences for our state.