The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development has released their latest rankings of US schoolkids.

Combined Mathematics Literacy: 24, below Poland, Hungary, and Spain
Space and Shape Skills: 24, below Hungary, Spain, and Ireland
Change and Relationships Skills: 22, below Slovakia, Norway, and Luxembourg

It goes on, and on, and on, but its actually worse than this. Non OECD countries aren’t ranked, but Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, and Macau (?!?) are better than us too.

But at least we don’t have a public education monopoly to blame or anything.

Hat-tip Democratic Underground, Newsday.

About three weeks ago, I was eating Chinese with Aaron when I made a breathtaking prediction.

“In about three months, people will be calling Bush a liar and Republicans will be defending him. Bush will say we need to reform taxes and social security to help our dollar. Some will call this lying, because more debt will be needed in the meantime, and the short-run effect will be to make the dollar even weaker. Bush will be telling the truth long-term, but won’t explain the difference.”

It begins.