High school students abroad take more demanding science courses and do better on more rigorous tests than college-bound students in America, a new international study has found.
The study, financed with a National Science Foundation grant, compared tests taken by students in Germany, France, Japan, England, and Wales with advancedplacement testthe hardest exams taken by American high school students.
Last year, 8% of American 18-year-olds took the tests in chemistry, physics, or 15 other subjects, the report said. And 5% of all students scored well enougha 3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5to received college credit. Overseas 25 to 50% of students in foreign countries take similar exams, with pass rates ranging from 25% of all students in England, Wales and Germany to a little more than 30% in France and Japan.