Children's Lives and Academic Achievement in Canada and the United States

Abstract

Why are children in Canada and the United States, two of the richest countries, only average by international standards in test results for nine and thirteen-year-olds? This article addresses this question by comparing the ways in which school systems took shape since the earlier nineteenth century. The context for this comparison are the results of the IAEP international test results of 1991 for nine and thirteen-year-olds (including province level results for Canada).