How’s that – US math and science education now ranks just 48th in world!!!!

(Updated)

I just KNOW some member of the ‘KERA Amen Chorus’ is going to jump on this one, but don’t jump here.

I first learned of this unsettling statistic from Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday’s blog.

Per Holliday, the 48th place ranking comes from the World Economic Forum.

I checked out the actual World Economic Forum rankings. This statistic (5th Pillar Item 5.04) supposedly relates to higher education instruction. It is based on a survey of business executives from around the world.

However, when I dug deeper into the The Global Competitiveness Report's Data Tables section, it looks like the 'Higher Education' category pertains to secondary education, as well. In fact, the actual question asked was "How would you assess the quality of math and science education in your schools."

Bottom Line: Ranking only 48th out of 133 of the world’s countries (actually economies, a few small nations are combined in the report) in an education area that will drive future economies in the new Century certainly isn’t encouraging.