links for 2009-06-17

Those of you who don’t have perfect children will find this familiar: Just as I was withdrawing money in a bank lobby, my 5-year-old daughter chose to throw a temper tantrum, screaming and writhing on the floor while a couple of elderly ladies looked on in disgust. (Their children, apparently, had been perfect.) I gave Dorothy a disappointed look and said, “That argument won’t work, sweetheart. It isn’t pathetic enough.”

Select your state from the list on the right to see how it compares internationally. The graph shows how your state’s average mathematics score compares to each country that participated in the 2007 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).