Losing the race

It's report-card time again for America's education system, and, unfortunately, our schools have once again brought home a failing grade. The latest round of international test scores paints a grim picture for the United States.

The new results were released from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tested hundreds of thousands of 15-year-old students from 30 industrialized countries. The results, which were released last week, show that American students are below average in math and science. Out of 30 industrialized nations, American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science, and our average scores on both tests are below the U.S. averages from the 2003 test. America is falling behind its global competitors and the economic security of our children is at risk.