Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education

Presentation to the North Carolina Accountability Conference February 18, 2009

Ilene BermanProgram Director, Education DivisionNational Governors AssociationCenter for Best Practices

• Call to Action • Recommendations for

State Action and Federal Support Developed by Advisory Group

• Published by the National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers and Achieve, Inc.

Why Is International Benchmarking Important?

• Students are competing in a global economy

• Increased demand for higher skills

• Opportunities to learn from other countries’ policies and practices

• Tackling the equity issues is critical

It’s All in the Data• U.S. showed gains in math (TIMSS 2007)• U.S. performance on PISA performed below average in science

and way below in math (2006)• American 15-year-olds ranked 25th in math and 21st in science

achievement on PISA (2006)• U.S. had the third highest gap in science scores between

students from different socioeconomic groups (TIMSS 2006)• GDP would increase an additional 5 percent in 32 years from

now if U.S. performance on international tests were at the level of top-performing countries

• College graduation rates dropped from 1st (1995) to 14th (2006)

A world of change in baseline qualificationsApproximated by percentage of persons with high school or equivalent

qualifications in the age groups 55-64, 45-55, 45-44 and 25-34 years (2006)

%

1. Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes 2. Year of reference 20043. Including some ISCED 3C short programmes 3. Year of reference 2003.

13

1

1

27

College-level Graduation RatesPercentage of tertiary type A graduates to the

population at the typical age of graduation

Comparing North Carolina with Nations and Other States in Percentage of

College Degree Attainment (ages 25-34)

Myths about International Comparisons

• Other countries test a more select, elite group of students

• The U.S. performs poorly because of poverty and other family factors

• Cultural factors prevent U.S. students from performing as well as those in other nations

• Other countries are less diverse

• U.S. attainment rates cannot be compared with other countries

• Wealthier countries spend more than the U.S. on education

• Education does not affect the economy

Actions States Can Take to Benchmark Their Systems

1. Upgrade state standards by adopting a common core of internationally benchmarked standards in math and language arts for K-12

2. Leverage states’ collective influence to ensure that textbooks, digital media, curricula, and assessments are aligned to internationally benchmarked standards

3. Revise state policies for recruiting, preparing, developing and supporting teachers and school leaders

4. Hold schools and systems accountable through monitoring, interventions and support to ensure consistently high performance

5. Measure state-level education performance globally by examining student achievement and attainment

The Federal Government’s Role

• Offer new funding or allow existing funds to be used to help underwrite the cost for states to implement the recommendations

• Increase the federal government’s investment or focus existing resources toward better research & development

• Offer a range of tiered incentives for states

• Change existing federal laws to align national education policies with lessons learned from states and federal research funds

Download the report

http://nga.org/Files/pdf/0812BENCHMARKING.PDF