Overall, U.S. students are performing better in math and science than students in foreign countries. However, U.S. students perform considerably behind the highest-achieving countries, based on a recent study released by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization based in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Gary Phillips, chief scientist at AIR and author of the report Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Mathematics and Science Indicators for Comparing States and Nations, categorized students into three levels: basic, proficient and advanced. The report presents an in-depth evaluation of mathematic and science scores of eighth-grade students, both internationally and in each of the 50 U.S. states. The analysis reviews scores collected in 2005 and 2007 on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) for U.S, students; compared to 2003 international data on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for students in other countries in grade 8.
Achievement level of national mean on 2003 TIMSS grade 8 math scale
(Basic-469, Proficient-566, Advanced-637)
Source: American Institute for Research, 2007
Nation
Mean
