WCA March 2011

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2011 39
From theamericas
scored 500 for 17th place, placing them on a par with
students in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Germany,
France, the United Kingdom and several other countries
In science, Shanghai students scored 575. In second ❖ ❖
place was Finland, where the average score was 554.
The United States scored 502 – for 23rd place – with a
performance indistinguishable from that of Poland,
Ireland, Norway France and several other countries
[Note: India is not a member of the OECD and Indian students
did not participate in PISA 2009]
To US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the OECD
report was “a massive wake-up call.” To President Barack
Obama, it was a warning that the United States faces “a
Sputnik moment” – a reference to the shock experienced by
Americans when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite
into orbit in 1957.
Writing in the ❖ ❖ New York Times, Sam Dillon observed
that American officials and Europeans involved in
administering the PISA test in 65 countries acknowledge
that the scores from Shanghai are not representative
of China because the programme did not canvass the
entire country. He declared Shanghai “an industrial
powerhouse with some 20 million residents and scores of
modern universities that is a magnet for the best students
in the country.” (“Shanghai Test Scores Stun Educators,”
7th December). Experts consulted by Mr Dillon also noted
the difficulty of using a standardised test to compare
countries and cities of vastly different sizes. Still, Andreas
Schleicher, who oversees the PISA testing programme,
called the results from Shanghai “stunning.” He told the
Post’s Mr Anderson that the city has been especially adept
at moving talented educators into the most challenging
assignments through career and pay incentives.
For those interested in an alternative view of the PISA ❖ ❖
2009 results, “On Those ‘Stunning’ Shanghai Test
Scores” may be read free on .
The author, James Fallows, is a national correspondent
for the Atlantic magazine and was a speechwriter for
former US president Jimmy Carter.
The economy
The comeback in tech jobs in the US may seem ❖ ❖
unimpressive in terms of absolute numbers – about
47,000 jobs created last year – but it is enough to point a
trend and to brighten what had been a very bleak picture.
According to economy tracker Moody’s Analytics,
that represents 15% growth in tech jobs, compared
with an 11% jobs growth in the economy overall since
the beginning of 2009. From a peak at the end of 2007,
the tech industry had lost 307,000 jobs nationwide in the
economic downturn.