Political Quotes

“The United States, when you compare us to 28 other industrialized countries, and you look at math literacy for 15-year-olds, you would guess that we might be at the top. No. You would guess we might be No. 5. No. You would say: Well, the United States of America, we have to be No. 10. No. You would say, we have to be 15th out of those 29 when you compare us to other countries. The answer is no. Well, then you may say: Out of 29 countries surely we are 20th, being the most powerful Nation in the world and the most affluent Nation in the world. And the answer is no. Out of 29 industrialized countries, for 15-year-olds--my youngest son is 17 years old, so he is 2 years older--we are 24th. I did not believe it when I first saw it, and I called my statistician friends, and they said: Yes, it is true. In fact, everybody agrees it is true. In its most recent round of testing, the Program for International Student Assessment finds that the United States falls behind--again, we are 24th out of 29--such countries as Finland, Korea, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Spain, and, yes, France.”