since many of the posters here fall into the 16-24 year old age group (or slightly outside), here some information on the latest oecd review comparing literarcy and numeracy levels of 24 countries/regions:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/08/oecd-adult-literacy-numeracy-uk-poverty-inequality

A failure to sustain education post 16 and the deep-rooted problems of poverty and social inequality have been blamed for England's poor showing in the OECD survey of adult skills. ...
The OECD found not just low levels of achievement in numeracy and literacy tests among the population as a whole, but strikingly poor results among the 16 to 24-year-old age group.
According to the survey, Britain's young adults performed worse than their 55-65 year-old counterparts – Norway was the only other country of the 24 in the survey which showed a similar result.
...
The survey showed an even weaker performance from the US, which ranked bottom for numeracy for 16 to 24-year-olds, and in the lower half of the tables overall, below England and Northern Ireland. Where the US once boasted 42% of the world's highest-skilled adults, according to the OECD, it now has just 28%.

and from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/08/england-young-people-league-table-basic-skills-oecd the relevant lists of 22/24 countries compared:

... Although the US has a reputation as the IT centre of the world, the survey found that its youngsters were the worst for basic technology proficiency, scoring 4.8 points below young adult Britons. ...

literacy for people aged 16-24

6 australia
15 canada
17 ireland
19 england+
20 united states

numeracy for people aged 16-24

14 australia
16 canada
20 ireland
21 england
24 united states

quite a poor showing of the english speaking countries and the standing has deteriorated as can be seen from the 'all adults' listings included as well
is it that the attitude has changed following the thatcher/reagan years to have reached (quote from the second link):
Compare this to the UK and US, where they are no longer good at developing talent but very good at extracting value from the best workers.

will extracting value from the best workers be good enough? will they be prepared to pay all the taxes needed by the government?
or should there be some effort to make use of the rest, improving their capabilities and getting ready for a competitive future?

The statistic of 16-24 year olds compared to 55-65 year olds regarding technical proficiency doesn't worry me.

The statistic that 25% of the England's population has the mathematical skills of a 10-year-old should worry everyone.

To be honest, mathematical and scientific skills are overrated. 80% of kids don't need to take Algebra 2. They need to take financial classes and numerical literacy/lifeskill classes. They don't need to take 1 year of Bio, 1 year of Chem, etc., but rather 1-2 years of Scientific methods.

In addition, I also think that the statistic about the U.S. going from 42% of the world's highest-skilled adults to 28% is misleading. Other countries have developed more and have grown since the last round of testing, and other countries have become more popular destinations for foreign national young graduates who, in the past, would have emigrated to the U.S. for education and employment, but now often return back to their home countries after education. It represents a change in the world rather than a change in the U.S.

This post was edited by Interesting on Oct 9 2013 12:33am

Isn't that what the article is discussing? (I'm actually not sure).

It represents a change in relative strength of the U.S., which I think is what the OP wants an opinion on.

It is part of what the article is discussion, and it is one of the parts I agree with in terms of immediacy / concern.

You learn about the scientific method in those classes....plus, it introduces people to those subjects which is kind of important.

Because their test scores make them failures instead of showing that they simply need revision. If you score low in GB you're fucked.

It doesn't have to be as broad. A greater emphasis should be on the logic and framework of science with exploration into the sciences, rather than the kind of segregated, odd experience high school science is.



Yeah, it will be a rougher time for the U.S. going forward. Important time to try to bring down the debt, improve our infrastructure, and re-invest in education and science. When a juggernaut like China is having 7.8% GDP growth year after year, the U.S. is definitely going to have more competition. Now's not the time to try to beat them for the short-term. It's the time to invest in stuff that'll ultimately allow us to beat them in 20 years when the stakes matter way more.

This post was edited by Interesting on Oct 9 2013 12:41am

Aus is doing fine.