The AFT prepared an excellent video about the real lessons of PISA.
It shows graphically what the high-performing nations are doing.
It shows that poverty matters.
It shows that equitable resources matter.
It shows that teachers need to be supported and to work in a collaborative environment.
It shows the importance of early childhood education.
The PISA report offers no support for current U.S. policies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I Just forwarded this to both my kids teachers and principals. I hope they have a chance to pass it along. Thank you
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Excellent video. How do you send it to TV stations, talk show hosts, governors (Gov. Christie), etc.?
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It was interesting to see Andreas Schleicher interviewed on PBS’s Newshour last week. He consistently reinforced the ways that the high scoring PISA countries provided support for impoverished students within these countries. Amazing to watch how many missed opportunities there were in the interview in identifying what these supports were. The bulk of the interview remained focused on “winners” and “losers” – the same old tedious rhetoric we’ve been hearing since the economy tanked.
Andreas Schleicher is also interviewed in Amanda Ripley’s “The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got There” . I’m a fan of this book because she uncovers broader contexts around the success of the three education systems in Finland, Poland and South Korea – she had chosen democratic nations as more accurately mirroring our nation, as opposed to highlighting China in her book. But the similarities end there. As besieged countries, in fighting for their place in the world, they have been forced to carve out a national identity through what they deemed their most viable natural resource: Their children. Their very survival in a global market forced them to improve their education programs on all levels. Our country has not yet had to do that – we have too many other “resources” competing with the education of our children. Which budget is consistently put on the chopping block?
I also appreciated Ripley’s candor in admitting her reluctance to take on this assignment, because she had previously considered education to be “soft” news, a mindset that appears to be shared by so many friends and foes alike– including especially, non-educator reformers and for profit privatizers: If our country were placed in the kind of precarious position that post war Finland, Poland and South Korea were – if we were on the verge of being “unsoftly” disenfranchised from the rest of the world as those countries were, would we too be highly motivated to institute the robustly mindful improvements that those countries put in place?
In his interview last week, Andreas Schleicher quietly enumerated what these improvements are – but are we willing and able to quiet the din from the distractors and pro-actively go to work on at least two or three items on his list? Are we still teachable as a nation?
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Terrific myth busting video.
The current debate regarding interpretation of recently released results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) implies that we need to choose between two interpretations: 1. The educational sky isn’t falling. Although US students have never done well on international tests, as a nation we have made remarkable economic progress and remain the strongest most innovative economy; or 2. PISA results should be a wake up call. PISA assesses important 21st century skills. Our students’ abilities remain stagnant while other countries are racing ahead.
Could these both be valid claims?
Critique of overreaching evidentiary claims is essential, but the results of the debate may not move us forward toward effective solutions.
Read more: PISA Results: A Chicken Little Moment http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-camins/pisa-results-a-chicken-li_b_4404925.html
http://www.arthurcamins.com
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Reblogged this on Diary of a Math Man and commented:
Interesting analysis of the PISA results. Looking at test scores alone never tells the whole story. Once you take these data in the comparative context of of what each country does, you attain a greater understanding of the underlying issues of education in the US. Use the analysis of these data to drive education/social reform. Current policies do not reflect what works in other nations. ADJUST!
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