An international report card

By The Economist online

Shanghai's school students out-perform all others

SINCE 2000 the OECD has tested school pupils in mainly rich countries every three years on reading, mathematics and science. Its latest report, published on December 7th, gives the results for students in 65 countries or regions, many of which are included for the first time. And it is a newcomer to the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) that has taken top spot in each discipline. High-school children in Shanghai outscored those elsewhere by a substantial margin in reading, the report's focus. Shanghai, Finland, South Korea and Hong Kong also have some of the smallest variations among student scores. Canada and Japan are the best-performing of the G7 nations, and Poland has made significant strides. Britain has slipped down the rankings, despite spending heavily on education in the last decade.