Free Republic

Comparatively speaking, the United States does not starve its education system of revenue. The U.S. is one of the leaders in spending on Education, and yet it's schools are rated "average" by international bodies.  The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.Worse, out of 34 OECD countries, only 8 have a lower high school graduation rate. The United States' education outcomes most resemble...

ISLAMABAD — Two men detained in Pakistan admitted with pride that they helped the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing, and one of the men angrily accused his interrogators of "siding with the infidels," a senior intelligence official said today. The pair are among six men officials say have been detained in Pakistan for alleged ties to Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American arrested in the United States two days after the failed May 1 attack in New York. Like Shahzad, the detainees are all from their country's urban elite, including several who were educated in the United States. Details about...

Pupils who speak English as a first language are in the minority in 13 out of London’s 33 boroughs, according to official figures released Tuesday. Fifty-six percent of children in elementary schools in inner London do not speak English as their first language. Throughout the country, English is not the mother tongue to one in seven elementary-school-aged children. Such high numbers of inexperienced, and in many cases, incapable, English speakers is putting a heavy burden on Britain’s education system. Far more disturbing than this, though, is that it shows how much immigration is changing Britain. The data, from the Department...

Despite their weaknesses, American schools still boast enviable achievements, the U.S. Secretary of Education told the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “The United States certainly does not have all the answers. But we have benefited tremendously from the insight of education stakeholders outside the government, especially from the business community,” Margaret Spellings told the OECD members gathered for their meeting in Athens. “The private sector has been a critical supporter of our nation's universities—actively supporting education efforts as well as partnering with them on research, technology transfer, and other initiatives.” “Companies within the private sector were instrumental in spotlighting...