If the best that one can say is that test scores in emerging markets have risen only modestly, that is better than what can be said about developed economies. Despite much happy talk to the contrary, there has been NO progress in raising math or reading scores across the OECD over the past 10 to 15 years. On the PISA exam, the average OECD math score was 499 in 2009, virtually unchanged from 500 in 2003. In reading, the average OECD score declined slightly from 501 to 499 in 2009. In the U.S,. the Department of Education has been conducting the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) wince the 1970s. There has been no progress among 12th graders on the reading component of the NAEP since the exam was first administered in 1971. On the math component, while there were some gains wbetween 1978 and 1992, there has been no progress since then.
Moreover, properly measured, the dropout rate in the U.S. bottomed in the late 1960s and has risen about 6% since then. The U.S. has some of the best post-secondary instituions in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that many graduating high school aspire to go to university. However, te operative word is "go", which ought not to be confused with "stay" or "excel". Currently, about half of high school graduates (40% of 18 y olds) enroll in four year college programs. Yet, a recent study by the College Board, which administers the SAT to incoming students, suggests taht the minimum SAT verbal annd math score that is necessary for students to have a reasonable chance of doing well in a university is 1180. Unfortunately only of 25% of students who take the exam make that score.
Very sad.
That isn't an argument US students are getting "stupider," it is an argument that US students aren't getting smarter. There is a definite skill gap that is causing a lot of unemployment in the US today (exacerbated by rigidities in the housing market), but a skill gap is different from an intelligence gap. In terms of absolute attainment, US students are not under-performing relative to their parents; forgive me if I don't panic over a 6% rise in the HS dropout rate over 40 years, and a 2 point drop in OECD PISA scores.
See this piece from Foreign Policy for more on this theme:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/22/think_again_education
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