U.S. Ranked 34/38 countries in Math
Here’s the factcheck link: https://www.factcheck.org/2025/02/trump-wrong-about-u-s-rank-in-education-spending-and-outcomes/
So they’re saying we (U.S.) are only “slightly below average” in mathematics.
In math the U.S. is ranked 34th out of 38 OECD countries according to the PISA data published in 2023.
This is what the source actually says.
“Overall, 2022 results are among the lowest ever measured by PISA in mathematics.” - PISA
So when President Trump said said the U.S. was ranked 40th, he rounded the max up and said we were ranked dead last essentially, for dramatic effect.
He said something like “last I checked we were ranked 38th (the real max) and now I think we’re 40th.” Even though we are ranked 34th in mathematics.
The executive branch must know that someone trying to pull a “well, actually we’re ranked 34th out of 38 countries in mathematics”, and correcting them is not a good look.
The fact of the matter is that the dept of education should be doing way better in mathematics for how much we spend per pupil.
That’s why they don’t say the actual numbers on FactCheck and instead hope people won’t go to the source.
That said, the main point stands: For the absurd amount of money the U.S. pours into education, our math scores should be way higher. The U.S. spends more per pupil than almost any country except Luxembourg and Switzerland, yet we get bodied in math by countries spending far less.
That’s why the “Department of Education is inefficient” argument sticks, even if it’s stretched by 4 points for dramatic effect.