I really don’t know why the US self-flagellates itself every year over PISA scores.
The east asian countries top the list every year, and we have to listen to paeans of how virtuous their school systems are. But what is left out of the discussion is that parents in east asia spend a sizeable portion of their income on tutoring/cram courses for their kids to supplement public school education. Is this what we want in the US? The abdication of educational accountability from daytime schools to night-time, parent-funded cram classes? I live in asia now. I see all the ad, billboards, flyers for Kumon & private tutors, everywhere.
And to benchmark against countries like Latvia & Estonia which have racially homogeneous populations the size of an American suburb is ridiculous.