[freespirited]

Exit question: Assuming no cheating, what’s the real explanation for the results? Better teacher training and more hours devoted to study instead of extracurriculars?

The explanation is that as usual, the scores are being used for demagoguery rather than anything useful. If we stopped comparing apples and oranges the picture would be a lot different. Compare the results for Chinese students in China to students of Chinese extraction in the U.S. and there won't be much to talk about. In fact, Chinese-Americans might even have higher scores than students in China.

Do the same for the other ethnic groups. If there were scores for African countries, I guarantee you that blacks in the U.S would have an impresively higher average.

[SeekAndFind]

Someone in the UK told me that African (not African-American, but AFRICAN) students in the UK do better on average than native UK students.

I haven’t checked, but I would assume this is true, the person who told me this is British ( and Anglo-Saxon ).

[O6ret]

Please explain: why is comparing the PISA test results an apples and oranges exercise?