It's Poverty, Not Stupid ~ December 3rd 2013 PISA test results will be available. This is the international test used to rank and compare the few countries who participate in this international assessment (65 in 2012, down from 75 in 2009). Before we begin interpreting these scores or worse yet, just believing what the media machine feeds us, please take into account how poverty factors into the US scores. With strong evidence that poverty lowers PISA scores, comparing US schools of poverty with international schools of poverty would create better comparisons. This becomes difficult as some countries will not report their poverty levels. The US poverty rate in 2009 was 21.7% and our score was 520. Finland who scored the highest at 536 only has a 3.4% poverty rate. Japan scored 520 and they have a poverty rate of 14.3%. New Zealand comes the closest to our poverty rate at 16.3% and their score was only one point higher than the US at 521. Breaking it down even further, if you only look at our schools with less than 10% poverty rate, the US score is 551, far exceeding Finland at 536.
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