I
n the United States, we spend more on public education (kindergarten through twelfth grade)
than
nearly any other country (more than $800 billion per year).
And yet international comparisons suggest
that our students are lagging behind most industrialized nations in math, science, and reading.
Out of
34 comparison countries
, U.S.
students rank twenty-fifth in math, seventeenth in science, and
fourteenth in reading.
This means that as a country,
we are getting a lousy return
on our investment in
education.