Some people are interpreting this reported gain in U.S. student math scores as a victory for central planning. The U.S. has improved on an international math test since implementation of No Child Left Behind; therefore, the thinking goes, we need more federal oversight and national standards.
I have two questions about that reasoning:
- If central planning improves math performance, why does it have no effect on science?
- If the U.S. does better in a subject as a response to competition from other countries, doesn’t that say more in favor of competition than planning? Maybe we should have a contest between states, instead of more federal directives.
You may use a calculator.
