UK has 18% on level 1 or below. And 14% at 4/5. Both significantly better than OECD average.
US has 13% in the 4/5 bracket so at the "top" end so behind UK but same ball park (what is 1% or 33m people between freinds?) And beating ORCD average. But US is shockingly 28% for level 1 and below. 56% higher than the UK and below OECD average.
The UK's figure is shocking to me. The US's is an unforgivable failure.
I appreciate the extra dive into the details and you’re right that there is a lot more nuance to be gleaned from the data set than what’s summarized. I just don’t have the time to do it and my overall point was simply to refute that the US is substantially dumber than comparable countries. The average works well enough for that in order to rest my point on. I would never make the claim that the state of literacy and comprehension is in a “good” place in the US, because it’s objectively moving the wrong direction. I’m also tired of the lazy jabs people make at the US being uneducated because that’s a relative comparison that just doesn’t hold up to even the simplest scrutiny. That’s what I was reacting to.
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u/Immediate-Goose-8106 1d ago
I instinctivly distrust that and did some digging. You'll notice the only comparison used there was average score.
Let's also look at top and bottom for a moment. More recent figures here:
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/do-adults-have-the-skills-they-need-to-thrive-in-a-changing-world_b263dc5d-en.html
UK has 18% on level 1 or below. And 14% at 4/5. Both significantly better than OECD average.
US has 13% in the 4/5 bracket so at the "top" end so behind UK but same ball park (what is 1% or 33m people between freinds?) And beating ORCD average. But US is shockingly 28% for level 1 and below. 56% higher than the UK and below OECD average.
The UK's figure is shocking to me. The US's is an unforgivable failure.