International Test Results Analysis are Flawed
They combine errors of making dubious causal claims and misusing rankings, and by ignoring evidence from low or average scoring nations on the same policy question, produces a triple error, a true whopper in misinterpreting international test scores, claims Tom Loveless.
“Conclusion
International test scores are a valuable resource for policy makers and of great interest to the public. As this section of the Brown Center Report has illustrated, the results are also vulnerable to misinterpretation, especially when cited as evidence in political battles over the wisdom of adopting particular policies. Three misinterpretations are common. First, dubious claims of causality. Arguments have been made that Poland’s tracking reforms spurred achievement gains on the PISA reading test from 2000–2009. It is plausible that tracking reform contributed to Poland’s success, but the evidence is weak. Other countries accomplished gains just as large as Poland’s without engaging in tracking reform. Many of them also boosted the scores of low achievers as much as Poland did. Moreover, Poland adopted several important reforms at the same time that tracking reform took place, and it is impossible to disentangle the effects of one reform from the others. Polish attitudes towards education shifted dramatically during this period and may have provided cultural support for achievement. A second common mistake is the misuse of national rankings. The test scores underlying two adjacent rankings, or even several close rankings, may not be statistically significantly different. Rankings are not equal interval—they differ in various parts of the distribution—so a nation may jump several rankings with a gain that is actually smaller than that of a country whose ranking stays the same. Rankings must be interpreted with great caution.Finally, the A+ country fallacy is a common mistake. Pointing to a single, highscoring country, or a group of them, and declaring that one or more of their policies should be adopted by other countries is misguided. It combines the errors of making dubious causal claims and misusing rankings, and by ignoring evidence from low or average scoring nations on the same policy question, produces a triple error, a true whopper in misinterpreting international test scores.”
[Source: The Brown Center Report on American Education, Page 31]
Misinterpreting international test scores
The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education:
HOW WELL ARE AMERICAN STUDENTS LEARNING
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Tom Loveless: U.S. students have never scored in the top ranks of educational achievement internationally, and the latest results, while improved, are mediocre. For one, non-academic pursuits consume more time for American schoolchildren than is seen in other countries. More:
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[Download the 2012 The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education]
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