--- title: Asia Schools Rank Tops in The World, U.S. Is 28th description: Asian countries claimed the top five spots in a global math-and-science-education ranking administered by the OECD — the U.S. placed 28th canonical: https://time.com/3856834/worlds-best-top-schools-survey-asia/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-13T05:52:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:19.689Z og:title: Asian Schools Rank Top in World Education Survey og:description: Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea fill the first three slots. og:url: https://time.com/3856834/worlds-best-top-schools-survey-asia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Asian Schools Rank Top in World Education Survey twitter:description: Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea fill the first three slots. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Here's Where You're Going to Find the Best Schools in the World > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=19633e99-8f63-41e6-b0a5-cb7a495b8c71&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The American Teenager in 2015 [Watch (HLS stream): The American Teenager in 2015](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yvcajvQf.m3u8) (3:31)  _Published 2015-01-29. Then and now, it's not easy being teens. Watch what the teenagers of 2015 have to say about their generation, and the ones before._ by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden May 13, 2015 5:52 AM UTC by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden May 13, 2015 5:52 AM UTC Asian countries [claimed](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772) the top five spots in a global math-and-science-education ranking administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) while the U.S. placed 28th, below much poorer countries such as the Czech Republic and Vietnam. Singapore ranked best in the world, with Hong Kong placing second and South Korea, Japan and Taiwan rounding out top five, reports the BBC. At sixth, Finland is the first non-Asian country to appear in the rankings; Ghana came in last place. “The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world’s education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them,” said OECD education director Andreas Schleicher. The new rankings are different the more well-known PISA scores, which traditionally focuses on affluent nations. The latest version, based on tests taken in different regions worldwide, includes 76 countries of varying economic status. “This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education,” said Schleicher. Below is the top 10 as reported by the BBC. 1\. Singapore 2\. Hong Kong 3\. South Korea 4\. Japan 4\. Taiwan 6\. Finland 7\. Estonia 8\. Switzerland 9\. Netherlands 10\. Canada \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772)\] ## Transcript 50 years ago you weren't expected to go to college. It was finish high school and go get a job. Now it's finish college and then figure out how to get out of debt. Taking selfies, posting stuff about what you're doing, we have different portals that allow us to be more selfish. The biggest difference between being a teenager now and 50 years ago. I think we have more responsibility for things. Is the technology and the resources that we have. The way we communicate with each other and the way we interact with one another. [ MUSIC ] The latest dance is the jerk. Partners. Face each other. Three feet apart then langorously sway their upper swine and arms while rhythmically punctuating the undulations with a savage pelvic thrust. [ LAUGH ] Oh dear. Pelvic thrusting? That still exists. One you've got to name the number one there you go. Twerking. The thing that's what it used to be called when I was in middle school. Yeah when girl's doing it that. [ LAUGH ] And then guys are like beat alright it's dry humping basically. [ LAUGH ] There it go it's dry humping. I don't get authority at home. We're just a bunch of people who go about our business and live under one roof. My parents are definitely more authority figures than they are friends. for me, but sometimes it can be friends. Depending on the conversations we have, sometimes it's, Kristen, I have a story to tell you about my day at work or Kristen, how are you feeling? Or Kristen, do you like a boy? It always goes back to do you like a boy. It's all right to get blasted, if you can be. Can be witty or brave. But if you get sloppy, you're way out. Glue- sniffing and marijuana are also out, because they bring on major trouble from the cops. I don't think drinking is popular among my friend group. But it is definitely popular among this generation. This generation loves pushing the envelope and trying to get away with. What they know they shouldnt be doing? I mean, when you watch movies, you know you get, you can get the sense where, oh, if they can do it then we could do it. A lot of people are using mari, marijuana right now. It's so normal now, like everybody just talks about it just like in the most like loose terms ever. Kids just go out and like do whatever they want. Behind every reasonably well- heeled teenager lurks a stereo set endlessly playing the Beatles. Big in the older set: the twanging social protests of folk singer Bob Dylan. [ INAUDIBLE ] teenager, [ INAUDIBLE ] stereo set and this we play with the Beatles. [ INAUDIBLE ] and the older set, the twanging social protest of folk singer Bob Dylan. I'm not going to lie, this morning I was listening to the Beatles. State Motel, we've been getting into a lot. State Motel, I love Artig [ INAUDIBLE ]. Monk is. Oh, I think Monk is amazing. Yeah we listen to a whole bunch of different genres. [ LAUGH ] I was going to say, like, Travis Scott and, and then they just started talking about the Neighborhood. And I was like, what? [ CROSSTALK ] I don't want the parents that are going to watch this til they go Google the Weekend and they listen to their music. [ LAUGH ] Well, I don't know. I think they've heard worse. It is scary not knowing what you're gonna do but I'm really excited to figure out like, the next step after high school. No. I don't think that it's easier to, living today as a teenager. Those pressures don't allow us to connect with like, older generations. 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