But they insist that even among countries with high participation rates and comprehensive samples, drawing comparisons can be misleading. In China and France, for instance, only an elite group of students makes it into the higher grades, while in countries such as the United States and Germany, most youngsters complete secondary school. One has to take the results with a grain of salt. To begin with, Neil says, politicians and reporters frequently emphasize the rankings of countries, rather than the point spreads among the average scores. As a consequence, even a small difference in scores looms large, with the frequent result that U.S. educators are reprimanded for not keeping up with the rest of the world.
Some researchers disagree.
Among them is Harold W. Stevenson, a University of Michigan psychologist who has conducted international comparisons of math achievement of students in the United States, China, and Japan. Stevenson argues that international comparisons are very useful, especially in a world that is becoming much more globally competitive. Ignoring the importance of international comparisons, he says, creates an isolationist atmosphere in American education that will not help students compete in the global marketplace. Stevenson adds that some people in the education community don't like international comparisons because they are overly defensive about criticisms of their schools. But he believes analyzing American education in a global context will make our schools better.