Every three years, teenagers (15 & 16 year-olds) around the developed world are given standardized tests in math, reading and science, and the results give way to rankings noting how good or bad the education system is in the participating countries. The latest test results were released in early December, and the US education system is falling badly in the rankings. Not surprisingly, this news received little attention in the US mainstream media, so I made a note to comment on this troubling topic when time and space permitted. So here goes.

Before I get into the numbers, here’s a question for you: Would you assume that the US education system is in the top 20 of those in the 65 developed world countries? My guess is that most Americans would answer YES. If you did, you would be wrong! The US education system is not in the top 20 in math, reading or science, and our ranking is falling fast based on the latest data out in early December.

The periodic testing is conducted by an arm of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. The tests are administered by the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Here are the results from the latest round of testing.

1. US teenagers slipped from 25th to 31st in math since 2009;
2. US teenagers plunged from 11th to 21st in reading; and
3. US teenagers slipped from 20th to 24th in science.

How can this be, you might ask. That’s not an easy question to answer, as I will discuss below. After all, the US spends significantly more per year on our students’ education than the vast majority of the other countries in the 65 nations surveyed. But first, let’s look at the actual results from the latest round of testing. Warning: you’ll be surprised at how many countries get much better marks than America.

You’ll notice that the US doesn’t even appear on the list for math because we’ve fallen to #31 since 2009. You’ll also notice that we are near the bottom of the list in both reading and science. The US is below the OECD average of 65 countries in all three categories tested. And finally, you can see that the top performers are dominated by Asian countries, especially China.

Students in East Asian countries and provinces came out on top, nabbing eight of the top 10 places across all three subjects.

Again, the question is, how has the American education system devolved to this point? The answer is complicated. For one, I think that teachers’ unions and increasingly progressive school boards have “dumbed-down” our public education system under the guise of fairness.

For another, the standardized tests that are given to US students to determine whether they graduate to the next grade level have also been dumbed-down in most states so that more students can pass. Even worse, many teachers focus their classes largely on passing the test and omit many other subjects that contribute to a well-rounded education.

Next, the PISA report notes that in Asian countries that did so well on the test, their students have more “drive and confidence to fulfill their potential” as compared to students in lower scoring nations. The report goes on:

“In China and Shanghai, you have nine out of 10 students telling you, ‘It depends on me. If I invest the effort, my teachers are going to help me to be successful’.”

The report also suggests that students’ work ethic and discipline have deteriorated in the lower scoring nations, including the United States.

“Practice and hard work go a long way towards developing each student’s potential, but students can only achieve at the highest levels when they believe that they are in control of their success and that they are capable of achieving at high levels.”

In Japan, for example, students not only believe they are in control of their ability to succeed, but they are also prepared to do what it takes to be successful. According to the report, 84% of Japanese students said they won’t put off difficult problems, whereas in the US only half said so.

At the end of the day, the US education system is failing in large part because many students lack the work ethic and discipline to achieve at their highest potential, and teachers unions and school boards are dumbing-down the standards so they can pass more students. This is very sad.

In closing, I realize that this commentary on our failing education system may put me in the crosshairs of many hard working teachers. If so, I would welcome your comments and suggestions on how to fix our public education system.