"On international tests, American children rank 25th in math and 21st in science, despite the push for greater accountability through No Child Left Behind. This 2002 law pledged that 100% of kids would be reading and doing math at grade level within ten years, but 8 years later the test scores look ominous: only 14% of Mississippi students, 30% of NY students, and 24% of California kids are proficient in math. Nationwide, only 20-34 percent of kids in the United States are currently reading at grade level. What's more, although America is falling behind in math, our kids are first in confidence. American students get terrible math scores compared to their international peers, but they think they're great in math - in fact, they have more confidence in their math skills than students from any other country.
Why you should care: While good self-esteem is important for your child, so are key skills and high expectations. Unfortunately, the expectations being set at many schools in America are extremely low. As a nation, we'll never compete if we don't set the bar as high as the countries with which we're competing globally. And as a parent, you need to be aware of the expectations your school has for its children and, if need be, set your own family goals. Low international rankings on test scores aren't just embarrassing. They mean that your child's generation won't be able to meet industry demands on a global scale. Right now, America is the world's largest superpower. But it’s unlikely to remain as strong without an educated work force."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect:
"Unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their ineptitude"
