Overall average scale scores, reading, for U.S. and six comparison countries, PISA 2009 (with standardization for average social class distribution in top-scoring countries)
| Top scoring | Similar post-industrial | U.S. | U.S. versus: | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Finland | Korea | Average* | France | Germany | U.K. | Average* | Top- scoring average | Similar post-industrial average | ||
| National average reading score (from Table 1) | 524 | 536 | 539 | 533 | 496 | 497 | 494 | 496 | 500 | -33 | 4 |
| National average reading score, standardized for top-scoring country average social class distribution | 529 | 536 | 536 | 534 | 513 | 508 | 507 | 510 | 518 | -16 | 9 |
| Difference between social class standardized reading scores and actual average reading scores | 5 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 19 | ||
* Simple (unweighted) average of three countries
Source: Authors' analysis of OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 database for each country