通儒院教学论坛

标题: [阅读材料]U.S. pressured by international rankings [打印本页]
作者: 周详    时间: 2013-12-9 14:23
标题: [阅读材料]U.S. pressured by international rankings
本帖最后由 周详 于 2013-12-9 14:27 编辑

U.S. pressured by international rankings

阅读材料 美国教育史  分类：国家处在危机中
http://www.ednewscolorado.org/news/education-news/u-s-pressured-by-international-comparisons
| Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org                                 
   
Editor’s note: This Education Week article is one result of a partnership between EdNews and the weekly education journal, allowing us to provide in-depth stories from a national perspective.
By Sean Cavanagh of Education Week
Americans learn a bit more every year about the strengths and shortcomings of the education systems in other countries, thanks to a steady raft of international test data, academic scholarship, and analysis arriving from home and abroad.
Second-grader Nitya Khare, an immigrant from India, listens during an English-as-a-second-language class in the Toronto school district.—Nicole Frugé/Education Week

Sometimes, what they learn inspires them. Sometimes, it confuses them. And sometimes, to judge from the collective angst on display, it alarms them.
Today, elected officials of all political stripes and advocates for a range of school policies scrutinize the results from international exams and comparisons with the intensity that, a decade ago, would have been reserved for state and local test scores.
U.S. policymakers and researchers also study the teaching methods, curricula, and academic programs of high-performing countries for lessons that can be applied to American schools—and the influence of those foreign-born ideas can be seen in many nationwide, , state, and district policies.
Colorado education officials benchmarked the state’s academic standards, approved in 2009, against those of Finland and Singapore.
Many U.S. leaders say that the performance of American students on a handful of high-profile international tests and measurements—while mixed—underscores the weaknesses of the American education system, and foreshadows the serious economic challenges the country will face if it does not improve the skills of its future workforce. Those results show the following:
Obama: ‘We’ve got to get serious about education’Such numbers dismay many American policymakers, who say the country needs to raise its performance, or risk becoming a less prosperous, less productive, and less innovative nation.
Learn more

“It is an undeniable fact that countries who outeducate us today are going to outcompete us tomorrow,” President Barack Obama declared at a White House event. “If we’re serious about building an economy that lasts—an economy in which hard work pays off with the opportunity for solid middle-class jobs — we’ve got to get serious about education.”
Elected officials and advocates routinely cite the United States’ mediocre standing, and what they know of the educational practices of high-performing nations, to gird their arguments for their favored changes to American education—from encouraging greater parental involvement to revamping school curricula and standards to paying teachers more.
But analysts and researchers caution that American elected officials and educators need to take a nuanced approach to interpreting test scores and lessons from abroad, one that considers the full basket of educational, societal, and cultural factors that shape school practices in top-performing nations, and in the United States.
“Education is a complex system,” says James Stigler, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied teaching methods in Japan. “You can’t take one element or one variable out of a system and expect it to work. We need to understand how different countries are producing results, but we need to be sophisticated in how we interpret those results.”
At a forum on international education held last year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said U.S. officials need to be selective, but also agressive, consumers of what works well abroad.
“Every nation, of course, has unique characteristics of its teaching profession, culture, and education system, which may not be directly analogous to the U.S.,” the secretary said. “But to the extent that the U.S. can copy or adapt, and beg, borrow, and steal, successful practices from other nations, we should do so.”
Concern about U.S. schools’ performance dates back to 1960sWorries about American students’ performance on the international stage date back decades. That belief has roots that can be traced back at least as far as the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, and it echoed through the 1983 publication of the influential report “A Nation at Risk,” which described American educational mediocrity as a threat to “our very future as a nation and a people.” The theme resounded with the 2005 release of the report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” which argued that U.S. economic growth would depend in large part on the capabilities of the education system.
Yet those warnings have always struck some educators as unduly pessimistic, given the relatively modest changes in the arc of U.S. performance on international measures over time. To the extent that the United States’ educational standing has slipped, it is largely because less-populated nations and countries that are surging economically have made faster gains, according to many analysts’ reading of those results.
“There is no decline on any measure that we have for the United States … (but) the rate of improvement in other countries, in terms of getting more people into school and educating them well, is steeper.”
– Andreas Schleicher, OECD
From a statistical standpoint, “there is no decline on any measure that we have for the United States,” says Andreas Schleicher, the head of education indicators and analysis for the OECD, the Paris-based group that administers PISA. The issue, he says, is that “the rate of improvement in other countries, in terms of getting more people into school and educating them well, is steeper.”
The United States, in fact, has a history of performing poorly on international comparisons, which belies the notion that the skills of the country’s students have eroded, says Tom Loveless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in Washington. In 1964, the United States participated in the First International Mathematics Study, along with 11 other nations, including Australia, England, Finland, and Japan. The United States’ 13-year-olds finished 11th out of 12 countries taking part, beating only Sweden, according to an recent report by Loveless.
“People assumed our schools were number one, and they weren’t,” says Loveless. Unimpressive test scores periodically trigger American anxieties about educational atrophy, he says. The tendency is “to look at the American school system, and say, ‘Something’s wrong’.”
Disagreement over U.S. test results and the nation’s economic prowessSome say there are clear reasons to be worried about the United States’ uninspiring international test results and their implications for the economy.
Over the past few years, some scholars have drawn a link between the kinds of academic skills that can be measured on international tests and nations’ economic growth. One of those researchers is Eric A. Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, at Stanford University. By his calculation, if the United States managed to boost its math performance to reach roughly the level of Canada, it would add between 7 percent and 11 percent, on average annually, to the nation’s gross domestic product over the next 80 years. That increased productivity would amount to pumping an additional $75 trillion into the U.S. economy, as measured in present value, or the current worth of the future additions to GDP. The United States’ current annual GDP, by comparison, is roughly $15 trillion.
Two views

“We face very, very different economic futures, depending on how our schools develop.”
– Eric Hanushek, Stanford

“A large portion of those high-ranking countries are economic train wrecks.”
– Hal Salzman, Rutgers
“We face very, very different economic futures, depending on how our schools develop,” Hanushek says.
Others, such as Hal Salzman, a Rutgers University economist, contend that the link between the educational and economic prowess of nations, as measured by tests like TIMSS and PISA, is tenuous at best. He says that the intense focus on international test performance among U.S. business and political leaders in recent years “leads to a certain distortion about where to focus” efforts to improve education and workforce skills.
“If the reason we’re concerned about education is economic competition,” Salzman says, it’s worth noting that “a large portion of those high-ranking countries are economic train wrecks.”
Some observers suggest the United States is not keeping pace with the earlier educational standards it set, which proved so essential to its economic prosperity. In the 2008 book The Race Between Education and Technology, Harvard University economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz argue that for most of the 20th century, advances in technology boosted the demand for educated American workers, and U.S. education kept pace, resulting in strong economic growth, shared across income groups.
But beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, educational attainment, as measured by high school and college completion, began to lag behind technological advances in that “race,” they say, leading to reduced economic growth and rising inequality. Large numbers of high school dropouts, students graduating without college-readiness, and financial barriers to college contributed to that imbalance, the authors explain.
Cultural differences, some shared characteristics among top performersAt the same time, many researchers say that attempting to simply replicate features of high-performing countries’ education systems in the United States is a mistake, unless policymakers account for the role that cultural norms play in shaping school policies in other nations.
For instance, when U.S. officials look at teaching methods in Japan, they’re often surprised by the extent to which educators in that country allow students to struggle through problems, and they wonder why American instruction isn’t modeled on that tough-love approach, says Stigler, of UCLA.
But it’s not that simple. Japanese cultural norms—transmitted by parents and others—create different expectations for what goes on in the classroom, he notes.
Japanese parents would be inclined to tell a child’s teacher, “Thank you for helping my kid struggle.” American parents are more inclined to say, “Why are you torturing my kid?”
– James Stigler, UCLA
American students “aren’t socialized to struggle hard,” says Stigler. “They’re socialized to put their hands up and say, ‘I don’t know.’ ” While Japanese parents would be inclined to tell a child’s teacher, “Thank you for helping my kid struggle,” he suggests, American parents are more inclined to say, “Why are you torturing my kid?”
Even so, some researchers see shared characteristics among top-performing education systems that transcend culture. For example, high-scoring countries tend to recruit and retain talented teachers and help them continually improve their classroom skills; they also combine clear, ambitious academic standards for all students with a strong degree of autonomy at the local school level, argues Schleicher, of the OECD.
Gauging the kinds of academic skills will prove most valuable to U.S. students is difficult, Goldin says, but evidence suggests that students need a strong educational foundation, without “breaks in the chain,” from early education through college. It also seems likely that demand will continue for skills that are not easily replaceable, such as analytical faculties, and the ability to think abstractly across disciplines, she says.
Such skills, adds Goldin, are not always easy to test, internationally or domestically—or to develop in the classroom.
“It’s much easier to teach with a textbook,” she says. But “life is not about answering questions correctly. That’s why it’s difficult to teach it right.”
Republished with permission from edweek.org. Copyright © Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. For more information, visit www.edweek.org.
Looking Beyond U.S. BordersThe Editorial Projects in Education Research Center asked state education agency officials whether their agency uses international education comparisons to inform reform efforts. Officials in 29 states, including Colorado, indicated that their agency uses such comparisons. In 21 states and the District of Columbia, respondents said they are not currently using education data from other nations as a policy resource. See map.
Those states indicating that they used international comparisons often cited a need to align student preparation with the demands of a global economy and learn from ”best practices“ in high-achieving nations. In describing the specific ways in which they use data from other nations, states most frequently pointed to the role of international indicators in comparing student achievement and developing academic-content standards.
Of the 29 states using international comparisons for specified purposes:
Source: EPE Research Center, 2012

Importing IdeasPolicymakers in the United States have become increasingly keen on the lessons that American schools can draw from foreign nations, particularly those that outperform the United States. Some foreign-born strategies and practices have already worked their way into the American education system, on a small or large scale:
Lesson Study
Since the 1990s, U.S. schools have used or experimented with Japanese “lesson study,” a strategy designed to help improve teachers’ instruction. Known in Japan as jugyou kenkyuu—roughly translated as “lesson research”—the practice asks teachers to plan together, observe each other’s classes, and work to continually test, refine, and improve teaching methods. Florida is supporting schools’ use of lesson study through its $700 million award in the federal Race to the Top competition.
Singapore Math
Originally developed by Singapore’s Ministry of Education, this curriculum has taken hold in many American school districts. It emphasizes extensive coverage of a relatively small number of concepts at early grades, compared with many U.S. math textbooks, and integrates math concepts, such as algebra and geometry, in secondary grade levels. A commercial developer, SingaporeMath.com Inc., says its materials are used in more than 1,700 schools in the United States.
Reading Recovery
This intensive one-to-one tutoring program, which focuses on the lowest-achieving 1st graders, originated in New Zealand in the 1970s and took hold in the United States in the 1980s. An estimated 63,000 students in 1,500 school districts per year receive Reading Recovery, and an estimated 2 million have been served over time, according to the Reading Recovery Council of North America.
Montessori Schools
These schools, which typically group students by age rather than grade, shun formal testing, and encourage students to progress at their own pace, were the creation of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician who founded the first school in Rome in 1907. The concept migrated to the United States, where interest surged, by some accounts, in the 1950s. Known mostly as a private school program, the Montessori concept has spread to public education.
International Baccalaureate
This demanding, college-prep curriculum, which places a heavy emphasis on international language and culture, was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. Today the program, which has expanded to elementary and middle schools, is in place in about 1,300 schools in the United States and is the best-known alternative to another college-prep curriculum, the College Board-directed Advanced Placement program.
School Inspections
Some U.S. districts, including those in New York City, Charlotte, N.C., and Sacramento, Calif., have recently experimented with the use of formal school inspections to help gauge academic quality. National inspection systems have long been in place in some nations, including England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Source: Education Week

Categories: K-12 News, Top News
Tags:


作者: 周详    时间: 2013-12-9 14:23
美教育界感受國際學生評比結果帶來改革壓力   

497期 2012-02-02

每年美國教育界都從國際學生評比的數據中了解和學習到其他國家教育制度的優缺點，而這些評比與分析都是來自可信和穩定的美國或國際學術測驗中心的資料和學者的研究和分析結果。

目前不管是民選的政治人物或是不同層級學校政策的改革者，都很小心地看待這些評量結果，並與其他國家的結果作比較，以期能夠讓州和地方層級的平均學習成果成績能有優越的表現。

決策者和研究人員也致力於研究學習評量成績高的國家在教學方式、課程安排、學術單位組織內容等方面的優越處，試圖了解如何能在美國國內實行這些優點，同時也看看這些外來策略對國家和州或地方政府層級的教育制度的影響。

美國學生在許多國際知名評量系統測驗的結果不甚理想，許多美國教育界的領導人也認為這些弱項若不加以改善，將會影響美國未來的經濟實力。例如:

美國十五歲學生在科學和閱讀的表現上達到工業化國家的平均水準，但根據Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)的評量，其數學方面的水準低於全球的平均值。

2007年國際數學和科學研究(Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)趨勢的研究成果顯示，美國四年級和八年級學生在數學和科學上的表現高於全球的平均水準，但卻低於較高水平的國家(例如:日本和新加坡)。

在G20(the Group of Twenty)及經濟與合作發展組織(the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)會員國中，美國擁有最優質的就業人力(大學畢業生佔就業市場人力的四分之一以上)。然而，美國人在全球55至64歲具大學畢業的人口比例上是36%，但在25到34歲年齡層的人口中具大學畢業學歷的人口中美國人的比例則降到21%，當然這有部分原因是一些新興國家的大學就學比例大幅提升所致(例如:中國)。

歐巴馬總統在白宮的的一個場合內提到:「無可否認的，那些在教育成就上高於我們的國家，未來就是我們的強大競爭對手，如果我們要維持可長可久的經濟力，也就是說，我們至少要能維繫社會上強大的中產階級，那麼，教育絕不能等閒視之」。

美國教育部長Arne Duncan則表示，當然每個國家的教學方式、文化、和教育制度都有其特殊之處，或許這些都跟美國有所差異，不過，我們在可能的狀況下，從別國移植、模仿、借用、甚至偷學那些比較成功的案例有其必要性。

事實上美國對其學生學習成就在國際間的排名向來很關切，其歷史可以追溯至蘇聯1957年發射Sputnik衛星開始，此外，1983年出版的〝危機中的國家〞(A Nation at Risk)報告指出，美國教育系統的缺失對〝我們國家和人民的未來〞是一大威脅。

在國際間，美國學生的成績表現向來都比較不突出。華盛頓的Brookings Institution資深研究員Tom Loveless認為，這表示美國學生的技術表現在落後當中。美國在1964年參與〝首次國際數學研究〞(the First International Mathematics Study)，當時還有澳洲、英國、芬蘭、日本等國參與，美國十三歲學童的表現在參與的十二國間排名第十一，僅僅贏過瑞典。

過去幾年間，有些學者把這類的學習和技能評量結果和國家經濟成長作一個比較。其中，Stanford大學胡佛中心的研究員Eric Hanushek就發現，如果美國能想辦法把學生的數學表現提升到大約加拿大的水平，國家未來八十年間的GDP可以維持每年增加7%到11%。

不過，也有學者認為單純地複製其他成功國家的教育系統到美國將是一大錯誤，決策者還是必須考量其他國家的文化理念對學校政策上的影響。

例如，美國官員在看日本的數學教育時，就對老師們老是讓學生在解題時面臨重重考驗和困難這一點感到不解。因為在日本的文化裡，家長對教室裡的學習成就有著跟美國人很不同的期待。美國學生沒有習慣在學習過程中要經過重重的挫折和考驗，反而是習慣碰到難題就放著，然後說:「我不懂」。日本的家長會告訴孩子的老師說，「謝謝您幫我孩子解決這些困難的題目」，反觀美國的家長則會說，「你為何要折磨我的孩子呢?」由此可知，家長對學校的態度有很大的差異。

資料來源: Education News Colorado, January 12, 2012
http://www.ednewscolorado.org/20 ... ational-comparisons
資料提供：駐休士頓文化組林莉萍 撰譯
作者: michelin    时间: 2013-12-15 20:42
为什么基础教育的效果不如东亚，高等教育的教学质量却那么高呢？
作者: 周详    时间: 2013-12-15 21:21
因为关注点两者四不一样的，不存在一个殊途同归的目的。
基础教育为了培养良好公民，用标准化的测试来衡量并不一定正确。

你提出的问题的确值得反思！！！
作者: michelin    时间: 2013-12-15 21:49
周详 发表于 2013-12-15 21:21
因为关注点两者四不一样的，不存在一个殊途同归的目的。
基础教育为了培养良好公民，用标准化的测试来衡量 ...

可是昨天做雅思，有一篇阅读题。里面对比日本和英国的基础教育，其中以数学这个科目为例，格外强调日本追求这种标准化的教育，认为每个人只要够努力就可以达到一样的水准。如果有差生的话，老师会课后辅导使他赶上平均水平。 这似乎又是普遍东亚的教育情况。感觉自己高中就是这样的。
作者: 周详    时间: 2013-12-17 11:27
日本的高考，比中国残酷得多！



欢迎光临 通儒院教学论坛 (http://tongruyuan.org/bbs/) Powered by Discuz! X3.2