Recent months have brought an
ever-louder drumbeat in support
of state-level participation
in the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), with a
weaker chorus calling for states to participate
in the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS). What would be gained if, in
addition to the nation as a whole, individual
states were to participate directly
in these assessments by testing a much
larger and more representative sample
of students? Not as much as many advocates
would have us believe, and probably
not enough to justify the considerable
cost. Despite the growing
infatuation with international comparisons
of student performance and
the illuminating feedback they can provide
on how young Americans are doing
relative to students in other countries,
current international assessments cannot
generate a great deal of reliable policy
advice. In other words, they’re better
at showing how our children’s
academic performance (in certain subjects)
compares with that of their overseas
agemates than at guiding us toward
stronger U.S. schools.