The results of the most recent Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, which is given to 15-year-old students living in the world’s major industrial powers, were released earlier this week. The buzz in the education community is that the students in Shanghai outscored the rest of the world. While it is fair to say that these students are not a representative sample of Chinese kids, it is noteworthy because previously, Chinese students’ results had not been listed among the world leaders. The tested American students’ scores were predictably in the middle of the pack. While it is beyond the scope of this blog to examine why American students do not perform better on these tests, most cite the culture of education for the Chinese that includes greater emphasis on teacher training and a more rigorous focus on academics as the reason for their better performance.
When I look at our students on the Kenai, I have to ask whether our culture of education is as good as it can be. My quick answer is probably not. Although I feel that it is wrong to promote (as apparently the Chinese do) a competitive culture geared toward test taking, I don’t feel that it is wrong to expect that all of our graduates have an exceptional skill set to do what it next after high school. From what I read, the Chinese don’t use their schools to teach music and art, nor do they offer activities such as sports. I don’t for a minute want to suggest that we emulate this approach to schooling. I do feel however, that we need to ask whether our academic instruction and support is improving. I don’t feel that to improve requires us to work harder; it is a matter of being more analytical about what we are doing and then charting improvement strategies. We don’t need to eliminate sports and music to get better. Improving the system to better realize the strengths of our staff will give our students a better chance to hold their own on a world level exam.
One Comment
One additional thing to remember about Chinese education is that teachers are treated with great respect. A saying I learned while teaching in China is that “a teacher is like a candle, shedding light while burning down.” It is also worth noting that although education is considered very important, teachers do not make high salaries in China.