Free Republic

Singapore is the smartest country in the world, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, Netherlands and Canada rounding out the top 10. The BBC says this is the conclusion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an economic think tank that outlined its findings in a new report ranking countries' school systems based on students math and science test scores. The report – which the BBC received early access to – will be formally presented at the World Education Forum in South Korea next week. Of the 76 countries ranked, the top half...

As Americans, we tend to be pretty full of ourselves, and this is especially true of our young people. But do we really have reason for such pride? According to a shocking new report from the Educational Testing Service, Americans between the ages of 20 and 34 are way behind young adults in other industrialized nations when it comes to literacy, mathematics and technological proficiency. Even though more Americans than ever are going to college, we continue to fall farther and farther behind intellectually. So what does this say about us? Sadly, the truth is that Americans are stupid. Our...

Surprised? So were the researchers who tested and compared workers in 23 countries. We hear about the superior tech savvy of people born after 1980 so often that we tend to assume it must be true. But is it? Researchers at Princeton-based Educational Testing Service (ETS) expected it to be when they administered a test called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Sponsored by the OECD, the test was designed to measure the job skills of adults, aged 16 to 65, in 23 countries. When the results were analyzed by age group and nationality, ETS got...

State lawmakers will surely haggle over education policy this legislative session, but hopefully they will remember the purpose of any education system during their battle over budgets: excellence in education and an equal opportunity for every child to succeed. The term “education reform” has taken on many meanings since its inception, but its foundations are based on educational freedom: Freedom for parents to determine their child’s education; freedom from the teachers unions that cloak ineffective teachers; and freedom from the archaic ideas of what creates a successful individual. It is disheartening that some fight against the idea of educational freedom...