Teachers of elementary schools in the U.S receive training which emphasizes on human cognition, principles of curriculum development, psychological development and instruction. Schools in the U.S do not have a national curriculum and students are not burdened with preparation for any national examinations.
1: Errrrrrrr..... where is SOUTH KOREA???? Really? you thought of putting UK and England- which are the same thing- and the States down but nowhere on this list can I find South Korea... "no pressure on homeowrk or tests" isn't the same thing as "being smart"
2: NO, this is plain wrong. DENMARK? Are you fricking kidding me? Newsflash. Denmark is right now turning upside down in an attempt to improve their schools, ever since it was discovered they ranked one of the lowest in school performance, EVEN THOUGH THEY SPENT THE MOST MONEY ON IT.
I should know, I live there.
3: 1. Why do they have the UK and England separately?
2. Since when do students in the US not have to sit national exams?
3. Where's Japan? Austria? Italy? Switzerland? Iceland? Australia? New Zealand? Canada? Israel? South Korea? Norway? All of these countries rank above the US according to the OECD comparison tables, even taking in to account non-OECD countries (and one must also keep in mind that China = Shanghai in almost all tests - it is NOT a national average).