[Mpls] American Schools v. The World

[Ray Marshall]

I may be wrong about this, but I would like to raise 
the following issue.
Foreign high school graduates consistently beat 
Minneapolis students (see how I neatly have brought 
Mpls content to the question) on test scores.
I searched long and hard on this but have not been able 
to find some facts.
Isn't it true that Germany and England, and most other 
European school children undergo a "culling" after about 
the sixth grade?   Then some children are steered towards 
apprenticeship/vocational programs, others are steered
towards general programs and only the top students after 
the sixth grade are allowed to go to the gymnasium (in 
Germany) where they prepare for University educations.
When European test scores are looked at, are these policies 
considered when their test scores with Minneapolis <gr> 
high school test scores?
In other words, are apples being compared with apples?
Are we spending billions of dollars in a contest we never will
win, and wouldn't want to win if it required such culling?
Ray Marshall
Minnehaha

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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:48:23 -0500
From: "Victoria Heller" <victoriaheller at comcast.net>
Subject: [Mpls] Greenspan comments on schools, 2 minutes ago

Chairman Greenspan, in his testimony to Congress, just said that American
students in the 4th grade are equivalent to their counterparts in other
countries in science and math.  By the time they reach 12th grade however,
American students are at the bottom of the scale.

He went on to say that "it is therefore not the students, but the schools
that are failing."

Much of his testimony emphasized that we had better improve the performance
of American children, or face the severe consequence of America becoming
unable to compete in the global economy.  We are rapidly falling behind
other industrialized nations in producing an educated workforce.

Commentary relayed by
Vicky Heller
North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside