The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance

According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:

1. Finland
2. South Korea
3. Hong Kong SAR
4. Japan
5. Singapore
6. United Kingdom
7. Netherlands
8. New Zealand
9. Switzerland
10. Canada.

The U.S. ranks 11th in fourth grade math

According to Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, in 2011 the average United States fourth-grade reading score was 541, which makes the United States rank eleventh out of fifty countries ranked in that category. Singapore ranks first, with a score of 606. Here is the list of the top eleven countries and their scores:

 

The U.S. ranks 6th in fourth grade reading

According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, in 2011 the average United States fourth-grade reading score was 556, which makes the United States rank sixth out of forty-nine participating countries. Hong Kong ranks first, with a score of 571. The average score for all countries was 500. Here is the list of the top eleven countries and their scores:

The U.S. ranks 16th in where to be born

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States has a Where-to-be-Born Index score of 7.38, which makes the United States tied for sixteenth with Germany out of eighty countries ranked in that category. Switzerland ranks first, with a score of 8.22.

The U.S. ranks 12th in age of first sex education

According to the 2005 Durex Global Sex Survey, the average age at which Americans have their first sex education is 12.5 years, which makes the United States tied for twelfth with Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom out of forty-one countries ranked in that category. Germany ranks first, with the average age of first sex education at 11.3 years.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in human development

According to the United Nations’ 2011 Human Development Index, the United States has a human development score of 0.910, which makes the United States tied for third with Netherlands in that category. Norway ranks first, with a human development score of 0.943.

The indicators that the United Nations considers when building its index are health, education, and income.

The U.S. ranks 8th in researchers

According to the World Bank, in 2006 there were 4,663 researchers for every 1,000,000 people in the United States, enough to make the United States rank eighth in that category. Iceland ranked first, with 7,962 researchers per 1,000,000 people.

The U.S. ranks 10th in bullied teenage females

According to the OECD, in 2008 the U.S. ranked 10th out of 25 countries in teenage girls who are reported victims of bullies.  The U.S. ranks tenth with 10.4 percent.  Turkey ranked first with 23.3 percent of reported cases.

Prepared by Laurie W.

The U.S. ranks 23rd in PISA science score

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, American students scored 502 in the science component of the 2009 PISA assessment. That was enough for the United States to rank twenty-third out of sixty-five ranked economies. China-Shanghai ranked first with a score of 575.

The U.S. ranks 7th in knowing how to avoid pregnancy

According to Durex, 84.5% of Americans are confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy, which makes the United States rank seventh out of twenty-six countries ranked in that category. South African ranks first, with 86.5% of South Africans confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy.