[Sweetpea]

I had heard we were tenth in the reading part, and only Finland was above us, of the European countries. But the other two subjects we didn't do badly either...

Originally Posted by rhadin

Makes me wonder if teachers have a tenure system in all those other countries. Randi Weingarten does point out that most are unionized, but unionization doesn't necessarily equal tenure system where lousy teachers can never be removed.

What's a tenure system? And Unionization?

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Our scores might not be great but our system does give every student who wants to a chance to succeed. In Europe or Asia I would never have been allowed to continue with college prep classes because my learning disabilities prevented me from testing well. In the US, I ended up in AP classes, passing AP exams, and earning a PhD.

Here, if you have a learning disability, you will go to a specific highschool and end up doing exactly the same end exam as you would have had you gone to the "normal" highschool. Only the way of teaching is different, not the subject. At the end of highschool, every single student will do exactly the same examination as every other student of your level. Even if you live abroad, and you followed the Dutch school system (such as the Antilles), you will do exactly the same exams. Even at exactly the same time...