Lessons from PISA 2012 for the United States: strong performers and successful reformers in education

This report compares the performance of 15-year-olds in the United States in PISA against the global patterns and trends. But it goes beyond the aggregate level analysis that have so far been published in the PISA 2012 reports, to give analysis of student performance on individual mathematics test items in order to reveal students’ strengths and weaknesses. Considering this also in the context of the relationship between PISA and the Common Core Standards for Mathematics can help connect these results to what the United States aspires to teach in classrooms and help inform teaching practices that can support performance improvement.