Study: US Losing Ground in Education

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Study: U.S. Losing Ground in Education


Tuesday September 13, 2005 3:01 PM

By BEN FELLER

AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is losing ground in education, as peers across the globe zoom by with bigger gains in student achievement and school graduations, a study shows.

Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.

By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. The 30-nation organization develops the yearly rankings as a way for countries to evaluate their education systems and determine whether to change their policies.

McGaw said that the United States remains atop the ``knowledge economy,'' one that uses information to produce economic benefits. But, he said, ``education's contribution to that economy is weakening, and you ought to be worrying.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5275006,00.html