How China and Canada Beat the U.S. in Educating Poor Kids

September 29, 2026 | njspotlightnews.org

Every three years, a random sample of 15-year-olds across the world take the same test in reading, math and science, known as PISA. 

The scores released this month are “extremely concerning,” says Tracey Burns, who studies top-performing education systems around the world for a Washington-D.C. based nonprofit, the National Center on Education and the Economy.

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NJ SEED: Singapore offers a great distinction between it and the United States. It not only has the best students applying to be teachers, but they are also placed in initial teacher education programs that are state-of-the-art and then they are dispatched to some of the poorest schools that need the best teachers. Data shows that most US teachers originate from the middle class, especially the lower-middle class. In overall program quality rankings, teacher education is not among the top-ranked education programs, and entry level teachers frequently start out in the poorest functioning urban schools. 

Our state-run systems might benefit by borrowing some ideas and programs from our international competitors.