Ranking Member Johnson’s Statement on the 2012 PISA Results
(Washington, DC) – Today, the results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) were released. PISA is a system of international assessments that measures the performance of 15-year-olds around the world in reading, math, and science literacy every three years and is sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Each PISA data collection effort assesses all three areas but one of the three subject areas in greater depth. In 2012, 65 economies representing approximately 28 million students participated in the survey. The focus was math.
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement.
“According to the OECD, the U.S. performed below average in mathematics and average in science and reading. This is unacceptable. These results are just the latest in string of discouraging reports on U.S. student performance. I’ve said time and again that our students are lagging behind, and not just students in other highly developed or up and coming countries. We have an education crisis in this country, especially in the STEM fields, and we must do something about it if we hope to compete in the 21st century global economy. That’s why a renewed commitment to the goals of the America Competes Act is essential in ensuring that there is robust investment in STEM education.
“I do want to highlight that Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida chose to be assessed separate from the U.S. as a whole and Connecticut and Massachusetts both performed well above average. These states prove that we have the capacity to graduate students with the skills necessary to thrive in a high-tech economy. We just need the political will to come together to make it happen.”
View more information on PISA here.
View U.S. specific overview of the PISA results here.
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