It’s the Poverty, not the Test Scores

This striking infographic appeared in Yes! Magazine last year and was based on data from the Economic Policy Institute’s 2013 report – What Do International Tests Really Show About U.S. Student Performance.   Though we decry low test scores and are currently concerned about whether a Liberal Arts or STEM focused education is the right trajectory, the affect of poverty on a student’s ability to do well, is dramatic.  As the data shows, U.S. poverty statistics are much higher than other developed countries.  When we normalize the data to reflect similar poverty levels in the U.S. as the better performing countries, then U.S. international test results go up dramatically.  Until we tackle the poverty issue, we will continue to spend ever increasing dollars and time chasing elusive test scores.

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