PISA achievements are just a hollow triumph

The release of the 2012 results for the Programme for International Student Assessment shows that students from Shanghai scored the highest in math, reading and science. When CNN first released the results, many people in the United States reacted with frustration and concern at the US' low ranking. Arne Duncan, the US secretary of education, even said that the results show a "picture of educational stagnation".

As a city, Shanghai deserves some praise for the results. However, education is as complex as human nature itself. We should be cautious about establishing causal relationships without rigorous research, and the reporting on PISA assessments was the epitome of bad research. The sampling, for instance, defies rules that entry-level researchers would blush to violate. Why is Shanghai, an outlier in China in terms of educational resources, selected to represent China? Comparing a city with other countries is preposterous. It does not flatter most Chinese to see the city outperform the rest of the world. Some may even suggest there should be equal access to educational resources.

The conclusions people draw from the PISA results are only as valid as the design of the PISA project. The CNN report on the assessment cites respect for teachers as one of the success factors of Shanghai, which is simply the confirmation of a misconception. Traditional Chinese values are undergoing tremendous changes with the shifts in demographics. Most Shanghai students are single children and they have a strong sense of personal rights and privileges. They are becoming increasingly assertive or even aggressive, to the extent that teachers feel they get no respect and are becoming disillusioned. A Chinese best-seller in 2012, The Workerbees: A Record of Young College Teachers, portrays the misery they feel.