>No, it depends when they give the test. That's like saying that if you test Spanish kids and French kids a testwritten in French, and the French kids do better, then the French school system is better.
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>My memory from reading about the comparison tests (and it has been a while since I looked into this) is that the tests are given around 10th grade. So non-US kids have had an introduction to subjects that US kids haven't seen yet. Of course they do better. Give the test two years later and see what happens.

Lets get somethng clear. I'm not saying the kids from US are incapable. I think majority of them are very capable if given the right direction and encouragement. So yes, I blame the system and all its money hog'n bureacratic krap.

>>Now, I've heard kids in Korea and Japan are way too stressed out with school work and demanding parents. And I'm not advocating that for any kids. But I do think that kids here have way too much free time to do whatever, like watching too much TV and getting in trouble.
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>Some kids maybe. The concern I've seen expressed far more often in the last few years is about American kids being over-scheduled and not having time to just play and be kids.

Over-scheduled? I disagree. I think too many kids come home and sit in from of their TV for hours and watch krap like MTV and VH1 and become more and more brain dead and obtain that "I don't care" attitude.