American 15-year-olds saw some improvements in the latest round of international standardized tests administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, headquartered in Paris, France. Science and math scores measurably improved over the previous round of OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey for American teenagers, while reading stayed statistically flat, albeit above the international average. The overall ranking for U.S. students in this year's PISA assessment rose six places since the previous assessment in 2006.
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The overall gains for the United States were some of the largest in this year's assessment. The United States' six-slot improvement placed it at No. 19 overall (out of the 33 countries in the OECD) and was topped only by Norway, which rose nine positions to land in 13th place; Iceland, which gained eight places and ended in 11th place; and Poland, which rose seven places to tie with Iceland for 11th.
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In reading, U.S. students averaged an even 500 points, placing the United States in seventh position overall. Thirteen countries were in a statistical dead heat with the United States, and 13 others came in significantly lower than the United States. (Note that in some documents, Estonia is listed among the 33 OECD countries' rankings, though, like the Russian Federation, it is not yet a full OECD member, but an "accession candidate.")
Math and Science results at
http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/12/07/u.s.-students-show-significant-gains-in-math-science-results.aspx