Nym is only part right. WHen you see the US scores compared to scores from Europe you are seeing hte average of all US students compared to the average of the top 20% or so for the European nations.
This is because many European nations limit who can get what level of education at all points in the students life.
How am I only part right then? Sounds like I'm all right, unless you mean I'm only part right because this only applies to Europe, and not the rest of the world. I was pretty certain that this was also true of Japan and most countries in Southeast Asia as well, though. If I'm wrong, please correct me there.
No, you said the students focus on one area. While this is partly true, the top 20% are the top average in all fields, not the top 20% in each field.
I'm tired and that reads confusing to me. Let me give an example. If we are comparing math and science the US uses the average of all US students. Germany (for example) uses their top 20%, not jus tthe top 20% in science. SOme of the students factored in will be mediocre in science but excellent in math or language skills. But since there is a tendency for students gifted in one area to be able to perform at or above average in all fields these non-science specialists do not pull down the average all that much.
If this is still not clear I will try to explain it again in the morning.
