You can't compare the US to the standings of other countries in student achievment, because many foreign countries do not educate all children as we do in the US. You also need to be sure that you are comparing data that results from equivalent testing practices and evironments if the comparisons are going to be valid.
A question for Morning Joe and other left of center news shows. Why do you choose a conservative like Jeb Bush as your outside expert on the teacher strike and let him drive the discussion? Why not interview Randi Weingarten, an articulate teacher and head of the AFT?
If all we care about is test scores why do we even bother hiring teachers - replace them all with hourly minimum wage workers and just drill the students for the tests. Let's use test scores for what they should be used. Test scores are a tool for educators to evaluate student progress in order to customize learning activities to make students successful in the classroom. They are not a teacher evaluation tool. Can they be a useful accessory in the teacher evaluation process. Sure but only in conjunction with several other measures of teacher effectiveness. Nothing takes the place of administrative and peer observation and evaluation. We are not manufacturing widgets; we are mentoring and educating human beings. Furthermore, test scores are only a valid tool for comparison if you are comparing closely matched testing cohorts. In simpler terms, you must insure that you are comparing apples to apples.
And as far as bad teachers in the system, I can only speak of my experience in one state. Yes, there are occasionally teachers in the system who are misplaced or have lost their effectiveness. They are a small minority and they are not still teaching because of "tenure", union muscle or any other so-called union intimidation. In my state, there are plenty of avenues to remove ineffective teachers. There is a fair process in place, but it takes a little work and requires consistent reviews. I do not blame the unions for protecting "bad teachers". I blame inefficient administrators. They have the tools to remove ineffective teachers and the teacher's union cannot stand in their way...at least in my state. So stop blaming the unions and stop painting the teaching profession with your broad conservative brush.
Jeb Bush said that he likes the possibilities of "digital learning" as a way to reduce budgets. Having an advanced degree in instructional technology, I can speak with some authority on that subject, and I know that authentic digital learning is not cheaper if it is done right. That comment is unfortunately typical of the shell game and smoke and mirrors used by conservatives when discussing education.
Teachers and unions are accused of being resistant to change. They are. They are resistant to the change wanted by the Koch brothers and their lackeys like Jeb Bush.
The sad part of this story is that Morning Joe, NBC, and other mainstream media outlets have joined Fox News on this issue. They take the liberal stance on every other issue, but when it comes to unions and education they swallow the Koch Kool-aid. The Koch brothers and their wealthy industrialist cronies want to return to the days of no unions or labor laws when they could freely exploit workers. They want a return to the days of lords and peasants, masters and slaves, rich and poor with no middle class. If that is not the case then why is elimination of unions, social security, and medicare the primary goals of all of the Koch secret PACS and shadow foundations?
And finally a word of warning to teachers and other union members. Don't count on any Democrat politician including Rahm and Barak. Their weak kneed capitulation to anti-union forces in this lastest test is disappointing at best. At the worst it is cowardly and despicable, and when the the Dems come begging at the door of the unions looking for money and help to get out the vote, the unions should slam the door. We don't need fair weather friends. We need friends with courage which brings to mind the words of Rev. Martin Niemoller, German anti-nazi theologian.
"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me."
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