Inspired by the headlines about elite colleges bringing back their standardized testing requirements (with Brown joining the list last week) we have been focused on issues related to tests and grade inflation. This week, we look at grade inflation through a slightly different lens, analyzing the extent to which voters
A topic we have been keeping a close eye on in the last several months is standardized tests in college admissions. A key reason many of the colleges chose to reinstate the testing requirement is that test scores tend to be better predictors of academic success than grades alone. It
The results from the 2022 PISA tests, released last month, showed that while US scores generally held steady from 2018 in reading and science literacy, the US score in math literacy dropped 13 points. In 2018, students scored a 478 on the math literacy test; in 2022, that score fell
Tomorrow morning, the results from the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) will be released. PISA measures the literacy of 15-year-olds in science, math, and reading every three years. Data is reported as a score for each country and as the share of students reaching one of six proficiency
By now, many of our readers may have already seen the headlines. “Reading and Math Scores Plummeted During Pandemic, New Data Show” from The Wall Street Journal. In The New York Times, “The Pandemic Erased Two Decades of Progress in Math and Reading.” As these articles report, data from the latest long
Over the weekend, hundreds of top scientists and mathematicians released a statement to, as they wrote, “express our alarm over recent trends in K-12 mathematics education in the United States.” Citing the California Mathematics Framework as an example of such a reform that is intended to enhance equity and reduce disparities, the