Boys in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consistently and significantly underperform compared to girls across different grades and subjects, forming one of the largest gender gaps in student achievement in the world. Saudi Arabia offers a unique setting in which boys and girls attend separate schools on a universal basis starting from grade 1. This…

Understanding how well English education performs compared with other countries is a valuable exercise, particularly because the information can help England and other countries learn from successful systems. The most recent international league tables of pupil performance differ considerably. England languishes well down the list in PISA 2009,…

Previous comparisons of the gaps in educational achievement between various minority groups (non-White, non-English-speaking, low income) and their counterparts (White, English-speaking, middle income) have tended to disregard the immigrant status of the minority students. In this study, I investigated these gaps within and between immigrant…

International comparisons of school effectiveness and outcomes have been used to suggest that British schools are underperforming and British students are underachieving, a view that permeated official publications in the 1990s. A review of some international studies and the difficulties of making international comparisons reveals no evidence of…

Discusses possible reasons for U.S. gifted students' underachievement on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Homework, class time, and television viewing are similar elsewhere. Previous learning, negative reform effects, middle-school practices, nonrigorous coursework, curriculum deficiencies, and stress on potential over…