US Schools Not in Dire Decline, Study Says

Despite dire warnings, US students rank well against worldwide peers in math, science, and reading, according to a new study. In fact US scores are rising, and students are graduating with more science and engineering diplomas than the US market can sustain.
So why all of the hullabaloo about US kids in decline? Because of misinterpreted data, reports BusinessWeek. 

Hal Salzman at the non-partisan Urban Institute claims that the two most-cited international tests actually rank the US second in key subjects, and countries that place higher don’t do so consistently. So rather than blasting its schools, writes BusinessWeek's Vivek Wadhwa, the US should tap its glut of grads to offset global warming and cure infectious diseases. (More education stories.)