[lbo-talk] Cogent commenter on NYT article

[David Green]

If you actually click on the study and look at the final results tabulation, you'll see very little real difference between any two countries.  Other than Japan and Finland at the top and the couple at the bottom, there is this vast middle of nearly identical results.

This is like claiming that because the U.S. achieved a 7.4 on a 10 point scale while some other countries achieved a 7.6 (and the rest 7.3's and 7.2's) we're somehow deficient.  Roll the die again with another set of tested adults and watch the U.S. get a 7.7 and those 7.6's drop to 7.5's.

This is propaganda pure and simple.  As for actual, scientific results it does nothing but repeat what we've known for 30 years going - very homogenous societies (Japan and Finland) do a better job of educating their citizens.  The rest of the diversified world does an identical, mostly adequate job.

The problem isn't a skills gap, it's a jobs gap - there are no jobs.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/us/us-adults-fare-poorly-in-a-study-of-skills.html