Overall average scale scores, reading, for U.S. and six comparison countries, PISA 2009 (with standardization for average social class distribution in similar post-industrial 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 similar post-industrial country average social class distribution 521 527 528 525 501 496 497 498 509 -17 11
Difference between social class standardized reading scores and actual average reading scores -4 -8 -11 -8 5 -1 3 2 9

* Simple (unweighted) average of three countries

Source: Authors' analysis of OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 database for each country

View the underlying data on epi.org.