US Adults Score Below Average On Worldwide Competency Test

[Buff]

No offense, "dyna mo":

American adults out-performed by many global peers on workplace skills assessment test
WASHINGTON (AP) ? It's long been known that America's school kids haven't measured well compared with international peers. Now, there's a new twist: Adults don't either.

In math, reading and problem-solving using technology ? all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength ? American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.

Adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test. Beyond basic reading and math, respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement due to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags.

Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings reinforced just how large the gap is between the nation's high- and low-skilled workers and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents haven't.

In both reading and math, for example, those with college educated parents did better than those whose parents did not complete high school.

The study, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, found that it was easier on average to overcome this and other barriers to literacy overseas than in the United States.

Researchers tested about 157,000 people ages 16 to 65 in more than 20 countries and subnational regions. It was developed and released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of mostly industrialized member countries. The Education Department's Center for Education Statistics participated.

The findings were equally grim for many European countries ? Italy and Spain, among the hardest hit by the recession and debt crisis, ranked at the bottom across generations. Unemployment is well over 25 percent in Spain and over 12 percent in Italy. Spain has drastically cut education spending, drawing student street protests.

But in the northern European countries that have fared better, the picture was brighter ? and the study credits continuing education. In Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, more than 60 percent of adults took part is either job training or continuing education. In Italy, by contrast, the rate was half that.

As the American economy sputters along and many people live paycheck-to-paycheck, economists say a highly-skilled workforce is key to economic recovery. The median hourly wage of workers scoring on the highest level in literacy on the test is more than 60 percent higher than for workers scoring at the lowest level, and those with low literacy skills were more than twice as likely to be unemployed.

"It's not just the kids who require more and more preparation to get access to the economy, it's more and more the adults don't have the skills to stay in it," said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement the nation needs to find ways to reach more adults to upgrade their skills. Otherwise, he said, "no matter how hard they work, these adults will be stuck, unable to support their families and contribute fully to our country. "

Among the other findings:

?Americans scored toward the bottom in the category of problem solving in a technology rich environment. The top five scores in the areas were from Japan, Finland, Australia, Sweden and Norway, while the U.S. score was on par with England, Estonia, Ireland and Poland. In nearly all countries, at least 10 percent of adults lacked the most basic of computer skills such as using a mouse.

?Japanese and Dutch adults who were ages 25 to 34 and only completed high school easily outperformed Italian or Spanish university graduates of the same age.

?In England, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States, social background has a big impact on literacy skills, meaning the children of parents with low levels of education have lower reading skills.

America's school kids have historically scored low on international assessment tests compared to other countries, which is often blamed on the diversity of the population and the high number of immigrants. Also, achievement tests have long shown that a large chunk of the U.S. student population lacks basic reading and math skills ? most pronounced among low-income and minority students.

This test could suggest students leaving high school without certain basic skills aren't obtaining them later on the job or in an education program.

The United States will have a tough time catching up because money at the state and local level, a major source of education funding, has been slashed in recent years, said Jacob Kirkegaard, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"There is a race between man and machine here. The question here is always: Are you a worker for whom technology makes it possible to do a better job or are you a worker that the technology can replace?" he said. For those without the most basic skills, he said, the answer will be merciless and has the potential to extend into future generations. Learning is highly correlated with parents' education level.

"If you want to avoid having an underclass ? a large group of people who are basically unemployable ? this educational system is absolutely key," Kirkegaard said.

Dolores Perin, professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said the report provides a "good basis for an argument there should be more resources to support adults with low literacy."

Adults can learn new skills at any age and there are adult-geared programs around the country, Perin said. But, she said, the challenge is ensuring the programs have quality teaching and that adults regularly attend classes.

"If you find reading and writing hard, you've been working hard all day at two jobs, you've got a young child, are you actually going to go to class? It's challenging," Perin said.

Some economists say that large skills gap in the United States could matter even more in the future. America's economic competitors like China and India are simply larger than competitors of the past like Japan, Carnevale said. Even while America's top 10 percent of students can compete globally, Carnevale said, that doesn't cut it. China and India did not participate in this assessment.

"The skills in the middle are required and we're not producing them," Carnevale said.

Respondents were selected as part of a nationally represented sample. The test was primarily taken at home using a computer, but some respondents used a printed test booklet.

Among the other findings:

?Japan, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Flanders-Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, and Korea all scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test.

?The average scores in literacy range from 250 in Italy to 296 in Japan. The U.S. average score was 270. (500 was the highest score in all three areas.) Average scores in 12 countries were higher than the average U.S. score.

?The average scores in math range from 246 in Spain to 288 in Japan. The U.S. average score was 253, below 18 other countries.

?The average scores on problem solving in technology-rich environments scale for adult ranged from 275 in Poland to 294 in Japan. The U.S. average score was 277, below 14 other countries.



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[LightscapeMedia]

It's being done on purpose. A dumbed down, dependent population is easier to control.

[Jman]

Canadia.... Eh!!!! Noice ;)

[ottopottomouse]

Be interesting to see the test. 5000 takers per country seems quite a small sample really - quite easy to find 5000 idiots for somewhere you want to prove is thick.

[mineistaken]

Its good that Geography test was not included

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

Be interesting to see the test. 5000 takers per country seems quite a small sample really - quite easy to find 5000 idiots for somewhere you want to prove is thick.

Conspiracy?
I think it was random/equal selection of participants.

[Nicky]

Originally Posted by mineistaken

Its good that Geography test was not included

[Captain Kawaii]

Americans have been dumbed down to become consumers only with zero focus on whats really going on. Same assholes who created the red shirt concept in schools.

[LightscapeMedia]

Originally Posted by mineistaken

Its good that Geography test was not included

I'm actually very good at Geography. Hand me a blank country or US state map and I could fill it out 100% correct.

[LeeD]

When I was in college I worked at an auto parts store part time. I never realized how dumb people were until then, it's really sad.

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by LightscapeMedia

I'm actually very good at Geography. Hand me a blank country or US state map and I could fill it out 100% correct.

respect

[LightscapeMedia]

Originally Posted by LeeD

When I was in college I worked at an auto parts store part time. I never realized how dumb people were until then, it's really sad.

I worked for Godaddy very briefly about 10 years ago. Got a question from a customer:
"If I turn off my computer, will my website still be there?"

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by Buff

No offense, "dyna mo":

respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement due to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags.

i'm not offended in the slightest.

the fact that americans, in general, can't sort emails as good as, say, the japanese, in general, or calculate mileage reimbursements as good as a fin, for instance, is a problem. i admit that. most adults have been aware of the problems we have in our ed sys and know things like this are a consequence of that.

it's also a consequence of other things, like homogenous nations, which certainly has to be taken into consideration, especially seeing how the top of all of those categories is dominated by homogenous nations. other things such as class structure and the attack on the middle class and ignoring the lower class too.

but that's not supporting your attempt to offend a nation, so let's not go there.


so this therad, is this more fodder to support your claim/thread earlier that all americans are retards because of a soundbyte from a senator you heard over the weekend?


fyi: in your other offensive thread earlier that you start offensive threads to in fact offend, then you write *no offense* here and also got butthurt there when i flipped the offending around. turnabout and all that eh. i guess that's why you spent the rest of today googling to come up with this article.

[Rochard]

Yeah, our kids are stupid. My kid started doing HTML at age eight.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by dyna mo

the fact that americans, in general, can't sort emails as good as, say, the japanese, in general, or calculate mileage reimbursements as good as a fin, for instance, is a problem.

No, we can't calculate mileage reimbursements or sort emails. Instead, we built computers to do this shit for us.

I have my email box sorted sixteen thousand ways from December 14th 2045. I can sort it by what company it came from, what person, and how important it is.

mileage reimbursements? Come on... We have apps for that.

Here's the best thing. We don't even need to remember our to do list. Somehow Google figured out in two or three hours that my dog has an appointment Tuesday morning. I searched for Petsmart this morning, but otherwise haven't entered it into any calendar or what not.

And the best part is, Google sent it to my phone. Google has already told me it will take me four minutes to get there.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by Buff

Adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test.

Dum dee dee...

[Barry-xlovecam]

[I]n both reading and math, for example, those with college educated parents did better than those whose parents did not complete high school. ...

Depends on the test subjects, their socio-economic status and family educational levels.

Still, no shortage of dullards in America to drag down the averages. So, this is not surprising really.

[LightscapeMedia]

Now if only we could get the Japanese to quit nuking themselves..

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by Rochard

No, we can't calculate mileage reimbursements or sort emails. Instead, we built computers to do this shit for us.

I have my email box sorted sixteen thousand ways from December 14th 2045. I can sort it by what company it came from, what person, and how important it is.

mileage reimbursements? Come on... We have apps for that.

Here's the best thing. We don't even need to remember our to do list. Somehow Google figured out in two or three hours that my dog has an appointment Tuesday morning. I searched for Petsmart this morning, but otherwise haven't entered it into any calendar or what not.

And the best part is, Google sent it to my phone. Google has already told me it will take me four minutes to get there.

well, where the hell were you when they were rounding up the peeps for this test! we needed you.

[pornmasta]

i can't afford to be competent

[xNetworx]

Originally Posted by LightscapeMedia

I worked for Godaddy very briefly about 10 years ago. Got a question from a customer:
"If I turn off my computer, will my website still be there?"

Bet you have never been asked if a mouse was a foot pedal

[baggg]

[J. Falcon]

Originally Posted by baggg

[tony286]

Originally Posted by LightscapeMedia

It's being done on purpose. A dumbed down, dependent population is easier to control.

I agree, the first thing they have been cutting for over the last 40 yrs has been education. Then they are surprised with the outcome. lol

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by dyna mo

well, where the hell were you when they were rounding up the peeps for this test! we needed you.

My kid is struggling with algebra right now and I'm wondering why.... When was the last time you used algebra? I mean, other than to help out with your kid's homework?

[tony286]

Originally Posted by Rochard

My kid is struggling with algebra right now and I'm wondering why.... When was the last time you used algebra? I mean, other than to help out with your kid's homework?

http://www.amazon.com/Dudes-Quick-Di.../dp/0312569564

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by Rochard

My kid is struggling with algebra right now and I'm wondering why.... When was the last time you used algebra? I mean, other than to help out with your kid's homework?

i *think*, imo, students struggle with basic algebra because it's purely conceptual. there are no real world applications for it. gotta get to linear algebra before it actually makes sense. peeps struggle with that. if it were more real-world, it would be easier to grasp.

[BlackCrayon]

your need to attack americans says a lot about you and its not good and rather sad.

[rogueteens]

Originally Posted by LightscapeMedia

I'm actually very good at Geography. Hand me a blank country or US state map and I could fill it out 100% correct.

a couple of easy ones for you

[Antonio]

Absolute and utter rubbish:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_...014_ra nkings

what do you know, US seems to be doing pretty well

[ilnjscb]

Originally Posted by Antonio

Absolute and utter rubbish:

Phrase of the day

[DWB]

Americans are not as smart as they used to be, but compared to a lot of other nations around the world, they are still pretty freakin' smart.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by tony286

http://www.amazon.com/Dudes-Quick-Di.../dp/0312569564

Originally Posted by dyna mo

i *think*, imo, students struggle with basic algebra because it's purely conceptual. there are no real world applications for it. gotta get to linear algebra before it actually makes sense. peeps struggle with that. if it were more real-world, it would be easier to grasp.

Never once have I had to solve for X. Not once.

The other math questions are pretty dumb too. "Grandpa has to drive 358 miles to come to see you. If he drives at 55 mph how long will it take him?" Not enough information. How often does Grandpa have to pee, will he stop to eat or eat in the car, how many highway patrol cars will he have to slow down for, and how for the love of god why is the old man only driving at 55 mph? GPS that shit.

[pornmasta]

Originally Posted by rogueteens

a couple of easy ones for you

or this one:

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by dyna mo

it's also a consequence of other things, like homogenous nations, which certainly has to be taken into consideration, especially seeing how the top of all of those categories is dominated by homogenous nations.

Interesting. Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway are definitely diverse with plenty of first, second, third generation immigrants. Only Japan is homogenous out of all top5's from the article.

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by Rochard

Yeah, our kids are stupid. My kid started doing HTML at age eight.

Yes, it is very smart to take single person as an example when speaking about averages.

[TheSquealer]

And how many of those other countries have teachers unions and teachers which are impossible to fire regardless of how shitty and inept they are?

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by Rochard

No, we can't calculate mileage reimbursements or sort emails. Instead, we built computers to do this shit for us.



mileage reimbursements? Come on... We have apps for that.

Here's the best thing. We don't even need to remember our to do list. Somehow Google figured out in two or three hours that my dog has an appointment Tuesday morning. I searched for Petsmart this morning, but otherwise haven't entered it into any calendar or what not.

And the best part is, Google sent it to my phone. Google has already told me it will take me four minutes to get there.

Root of the problem....
And I am pretty sure his post is not sarcasm...
Typical dumb consumer.

You forgot one last thing - you do not need to teach calculus, you have calculators and you can also do that on your phone.
Unbelievable..

EDIT:

Oh well, he actually DID that!!:

Originally Posted by Rochard

My kid is struggling with algebra right now and I'm wondering why.... When was the last time you used algebra? I mean, other than to help out with your kid's homework?

I honestly did not see this reply when I was joking about calculus...

Unbelievable!
And he is not being sarcastic

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by mineistaken

Interesting. Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway are definitely diverse with plenty of first, second, third generation immigrants. Only Japan is homogenous out of all top5's from the article.

i disagree with your fact finding. of those top nations, finland, the netherlands, sweden, are all recognized as homogenous nations.

nevertheless, it's a hypothesis(the correlation between homogeneity and such), and i had mentioned that either many or most of the top nations are homgenous, not all.

there are also other factors i mentioned, the class issue here is massive massive massive. now i think those 2 factors combined* could be important, there are certainly connections between classes, education level achieved, career, etc.

but even more importantly, i don't really feel comfortable debating the op topic, i mean it seems weird to me to test for sorting emails and similar, then comparing that sort of skill internationally and then making sweeping conclusions on that.

doesn't really sound like science to me.

but the op is on a tear to proof he's smarter than usa so thus, the thread.

[mineistaken]

If we compare with lets say African nations, where there are many "tribes" and most country borders were drawn artificially then yes. But in general all of those TOP5 countries (excluding Japan) has HUGE population of immigrants.

[madm1k3]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

And how many of those other countries have teachers unions and teachers which are impossible to fire regardless of how shitty and inept they are?

Pretty sure Japan, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Flanders-Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, and Korea all have teacher's unions.

[DamianJ]

Originally Posted by dyna mo

but the op is on a tear to proof he's smarter than usa so thus, the thread.

I wager he knows the difference between prove and proof though, honey.

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by DamianJ

I wager he knows the difference between prove and proof though, honey.

it's an internet meme. certainly an internet guru would know that.

[The Sultan Of Smut]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

Be interesting to see the test. 5000 takers per country seems quite a small sample really - quite easy to find 5000 idiots for somewhere you want to prove is thick.

If the sample is random you can get accurate numbers with 1000. 50 is the lowest without sampling error getting too high.