Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

International competition: Why are we losing ground?

At the beginning of the No Child Left Behind era, the United States was busy comparing one state to the other. Seven years later, we are now more interested in comparing the United States to other countries around the world. National exams like TIMMS and PISA have caused us to reflect on how well the United States performs compared to other countries around the world. The results have not been as encouraging as we had hoped; the United States tends to lose ground each year when international comparisons are being made.

Why is the United States not performing as well as other countries? The theories abound, but some of the more common ones are listed below:

• The United States educates all kids whereas other countries may specialize at the high school level.
• The United States provides a well-rounded education and avoids the “drill & kill” approach that other countries may adopt.
• Standards are set at the local level; therefore no uniform standards exist in our country.

As I am preparing for a trip to Singapore the last week of April, I am beginning to realize that there may be another reason why our students do not compare favorably to students in other countries. One of the purposes of the Singapore trip is to examine, in more detail, the Singapore math program, which is renowned across the world for raising math scores from some of the lowest in the world to the highest in a span of 10 years.

What is unique about the Singapore math program?
It appears that the answers come in three words. The Singapore math standards are: fewer – higher – clearer.

An example of this is looking at math lessons in the elementary grades, when Singapore is compared to the United States curriculum.

The chart below illustrates the number of lessons at each grade level in Singapore, compared to two prominent curriculum companies in the United States. Notice the dramatic difference in the numbers of lessons taught. It is clear that fewer lessons are taught, but the lessons that are taught are handled with more depth and clarity.

Do we try to teach too much in the United States? Are our standards too low in terms of our expectations? Do our standards make sense to non-educators in our communities and in our states? These three questions need to be answered before the United States can be competitive with other countries around the world.