The International Efficiency of American Education - The Bad and the Not-So-Bad News - Stephen P. Heyneman

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper analyzes evidence on education efficiency, arguing that American schools may be lower in quality and less efficient than many other countries. It links this inefficiency to differences in students’ “demand to learn” between American children and peers elsewhere, while also examining counterevidence and reframing comparisons. Using international test results and cost-based measures, it compares the U.S. with leading systems such as the Republic of Korea and discusses how international comparisons should inform domestic education policy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Bad news about American education

Efficiency: The Bad News

Cost and performance across countries

PISA-based evidence and efficiency rankings

The International Efficiency of American Education: The Bad and the Not-So-Bad News Stephen P. Heyneman Vanderbilt University There is ample evidence to suggest that American schools perform worse than schools in many other countries. The U.S. ranks toward the bottom of the industrialized nations on international tests of academic achievement in science and mathematics. Not only may American schools perform worse but they may do so at the same time as they use more resources than other schools systems. In essence, American schools may not only be poor in quality but less efficient. This paper will explore some of the evidence on education efficiency. It will suggest that in many ways the assumption is correct, American schools are less efficient. It will suggest that the reason for the inefficiency of American schools is the difference in the ‘demand to learn’ between American and other school children. But the paper will also explore evidence that suggests that American schools are not less efficient and in one new way of looking at the problem, this paper will argue that American schools are more efficient than the schools in the Republic of Korea, one of the world’s leading school systems. The paper will conclude with some advice on the proper role which international comparisons may play in the design of domestic education policy. Background Bad news about American education is a tradition. Often the news emerges from national commissions (Higher Education for Democracy, 1947; Committee on Education Beyond High School, 1956; Task Force on Education, 1960; Nation at Risk, 1983; The Future of Higher Education, 2006; State Scholars Initiative, 2008; Wolk, 2009). In many instances the bad news includes statements that American schools have declined in quality or have been bested by school systems in other countries. International tests of academic achievement have been used to suggest that American school children do not learn as much as do children in many other school systems, including the school systems of America’s most important trading partners (Lemke, Sen, Pahlke, Partelow, Miller, Kastberg and Jocelyn, 2004; Baldi, Jin, Skemer, Green, Herget, 2007; Herget, 2007; Heyneman and Lee, 2012) . Sometimes, the school systems which attain first place in the ranking of achievement become a subject of headline news. This was the case for instance of the scores of Shanghai on PISA 2009 (New York Times, 2010) . Attention has turned not only to the rankings of other countries on achievement tests, but on the comparative efficiency of one system versus another in those rankings (New York Times, 2007) . [1] Efficiency: The Bad News The bad news is not new. Two decades ago the U.S. spent more money on education yet performed worse on tests of 8th grade mathematics (Table one) . Table one displays the results of the international test designed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) used in 1991 prior to PISA. Norway, for instance, spent $1,111 for each adult citizen in the population. Forty-six percent of the Norwegian students performed over the international median in 8th grade mathematics. This would imply that it would cost an additional $ US 24/adult citizen for an additional one percent of the students to achieve over the international mathematics median. The U.S. spent $ US 1040/adult citizen and 45% of the American students performed over the Originally published as “The International Efficiency of American Education: The Bad and the Not-soBad News,”(2013) pp. 279-302 in Heinz-Dieter Meyer and Aaron Benavot (eds.) Pisa, Power and Policy: The Emergence of Global Educational Governance Oxford (UK): Oxford Studies in Comparative Education Symposium Books. Appears with permission in Current Issues in Comparative Education 16(1): 74-89. The International Efficiency of American Education international median. To get an additional percent over the international median, the U.S. would need to spend an additional

FAQs

What core claim does the paper make about American schools’ efficiency?

The paper argues that American schools are, in many ways, less efficient than schools in other countries, though it also considers evidence that challenges a simplistic interpretation.

How does the paper explain the source of inefficiency?

It suggests the inefficiency stems from differences in the ‘demand to learn’ between American students and children in other school systems.

What role do international comparisons play according to the conclusion?

The paper concludes by offering advice on the proper role international comparisons should play in shaping domestic education policy.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni