SHANGHAI, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A study by an Australian think tank indicates East Asia is home to the world's best primary and secondary schools.
The study by the Grattan Institute indicated the average 15-year old in Shanghai, China, performs math at levels that are two or three years ahead of students in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
East Asian primary and secondary schools are better at addressing their weaknesses and improving the classroom through policy, the study said.
The study also found East Asian schools spend less on primary school students who outperform their global counterparts in reading, math and science.
U.S. President Barack Obama has decried the state of U.S. education.
"Our students are outperformed in math and science by their peers in Singapore, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Korea, among others. Another assessment shows American 15-year-olds ranked 25th in math and 21st in science when compared to nations around the world," Obama said in 2009.
