The PISA scores are below average in 2022 but not significantly so. Most countries have had a pretty bad decline in test scores due to covid, but that's (hopefully) a one-time problem and future cohorts will do better.
I'm not saying that's a good thing. We're a very rich country and we should do better.
But the US also has a lot of systematic problems that peer countries don't, like child poverty, that are likely a bigger cause of subpar test scores than bad schools.
There's a difference between "below average and rising" versus "below average and falling". The US, over this period, happens to be the latter: below average and falling.
Merely focusing on "below average" without acknowledging the trend -- declining -- seems to be disingenuous.
I'm not saying that's a good thing. We're a very rich country and we should do better.
But the US also has a lot of systematic problems that peer countries don't, like child poverty, that are likely a bigger cause of subpar test scores than bad schools.