Which country will produce the next innovative and creative Steve Jobs equivalent? Standardized test scores can not possibly measure the achievements of a country academically. Although a country may score relatively high on one of these tests, does not mean that country is exactly superior to others. According to the Washington Post, students in Shanghai, China have recently scored a 600 on the PISA exams. This is considered to be high being the average is 500. This might make Americans worry about falling behind and worry about whether or not students are receiving the proper education. Although these test scores speak for Shanghai, they do not necessarily represent an evaluation for the whole country of China.

For China, it is safe to say that education is a big deal and a number one priority, technology and science being the leading priority. Even though Shanghai students have scored high on their PISA exam, they received special training specifically for the test. It is very hard to use standardized tests to compare different countries that all have different populations. Even though Shanghai's students can score high on these standardized tests, the students there spend most of their time drilling answers into their heads, which makes them weak when it comes to being innovative.

American and Chinese schools differ in many ways. Chinese students have longer school days compared to American students, but Chinese students focus on success in core subjects. For American students, time is divided between athletics, music, and other activities.

Sign Up For Traffic Text Alerts

There is no question that education is very important, but there should be some opportunities for a child to express themselves by participating in other activities, other than just academic studies. This would give the child a chance to find themselves and also learn how to be more creative and original.