The United States is trying to improve an education system that produces millions of citizens who cannot read, write, or add--let alone finding their country on a map. In his first State of Union message since taking office a year ago, President George Bush promised to wipe out illiteracy  in the next decade and declared that "by the year 2008, U.S students must be first in the world in math and science achievements. " They have a long way to go. American students were placed 14th in a recent general science test conducted in 16 countries. In a separate survey of chemistry students, the United States came 12 out of 14. In a mathematics test, they were last. According to Bush, there are 17 million illiterates in this country of 245 million people. Other estimates put the number as high as 23 million. In percentage terms, that ranks the United States alongside Nicaragua and below C], 'uba. "This nation," Bush said in his State of the Union address, "will not accept anything but excellent in education." Bush, who has declared himself "Education president", and senior officials of his administration are warning that the United States will be unable to compete in the world without an educated workforce. How to increase educational standards is a matter of debate in a country whose schools have no uniform national curriculum and are subject to a confusing variety of state and local controls. Most experts think that the problem lies at the elementary and high school' levels rather than with universities-but even their graduates show huge gaps in general knowledge. Among the root causes most frequently mentioned in education debates is the low respect in which U.S. society holds teachers-in contrast to Japan and Germany. In Japan teaching is a profession of high prestige  and high pay. In the United States teachers are near the bottom of the society. By "the United States came 12 out of 14"(Para. 2), the author means
the United States ranked 12th not 14th in the chemistry test the United States ranked 12th in the chemistry test conducted by 14 countries .the United States progressed from 14th to 12th in the chemistry test the United States ranked 12th in chemistry test and 14th in general science test