PISA and TIMMS

The one thing that has really stuck out to me from our discussions on the international testing is how the US consistently scores higher on the TIMMS test than the PISA test. 

My number one complaint with regards to standardized testing has been how it neglets to test students' ability to apply information and to think creatively and critically.  However, when we looked at some sample questions from the PISA test, it seemed to me that they actually do a fairly good job of promoting application over rote memorization.

The TIMMS test, on the other hand, requires more memorization of specific facts.  And yet, the US seems to do much better on the TIMMS test than the PISA test.  I guess this kindof surprises me because our claim to fame has always been that we promote creativity and critical thinking and that the innovation comes out of America. 

Yes, I understand that the US does follow more of a teacher centered philosophy and that we still stress a lot of fact memorization.  However, I guess it surprises me to find that we are even more teacher centered than other countries around the world.  It really causes me to question our claim that we lead the world in innovation.

It also makes me wonder if all of our standardized tests are really doing a good job of showing how effective our school system is.  I think we need to create exams more like the PISA test so that we know whether our students are truly able to understand and apply knowledge or not.