The Chief Academic Officer of Great
Hearts America, Dr. Robert Jackson, reported that 247 students from four
Phoenix-based Great Hearts Academies (Arete Prep, Chandler Prep, Scottsdale
Prep, and Veritas Prep) participated in the PISA-based Test for Schools. The
results show how Great Hearts Academies stack up against their domestic and
international peers.
The Great
Hearts average on the reading test (577) outscored every country in the OECD
group, as well as the partner PISA countries.
On the science test, the Great Hearts average (580) was second only to
Shanghai-China. On the mathematics test,
the Great Hearts average (570) was surpassed only by Shanghai and Singapore,
with Great Hearts Veritas Prep (587) outscoring even Singapore. Great Hearts students’ scores on the reading, mathematics,
and science tests were well above the national average for the United States,
all in the top 10% of participating US schools.
PISA measures the competencies, skills,
and knowledge of 15-year-old students in more than 60 countries around the
world in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science. The study is organized
by the OECD every three years and aims to provide internationally comparable
evidence on student achievement and school effectiveness.
World Class Scores
The PISA tests also rate individual
proficiencies, placing students in one of six levels of achievement.
Students at Levels 5 and 6 can be regarded as “world-class knowledge
workers of tomorrow,” according to the OECD. Only 10% of all US students
perform at this level.
Fully 36% of Great Hearts high school
students tested achieved this best-in-world distinction in mathematics, along with 22% in reading and 15% in
science.
“Great Hearts students prove that
America really can lead the world in academic competence when students have the
kind of curriculum, teachers, and intellectual rigor Great Hearts Academies
provide,” said Daniel Scoggin, President of Great Hearts America. “The
new PISA scores place our students and schools among the world’s very highest
performers as we continue to drive towards excellence in each of our
academies.”
The Power of a Liberal Arts Curriculum
The results of the 2012 PISA test demonstrate
that Great Hearts schools are performing well beyond American averages, but
also beyond international averages. Additionally, the students of Great
Hearts compete with and exceed the success of the best public and private
schools in the United States. A full liberal arts curriculum emphasizes
the importance of all the disciplines, which explains the success of Great
Hearts students, having exceeded national and international averages in every
area: reading, mathematics, and science.
