...As a new study on education standards world-wide shows, unlike in the U.S. and much of Europe, high school students in these countries actually learn something. In this country, the study's findings grabbed headlines for how poorly American students score.... Only a generation ago, U.S. high school students ranked No. 1. Today their performance has fallen below the OECD average -- except in reading, where Americans manage to eke out an "average."... Less publicized has been why U.S. scores are so low. The OECD researchers identified several key characteristics that most successful school systems share -- namely, decentralization, competition and...