NewsTracker Answers for week of Oct. 12, 2026

Q: Thousands of students – joined by parents, teachers, and others – protested across France last week against dilapidated schools and teacher shortages. About 71,500 people took to the streets on Thursday. Where is France?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The French government said Thursday it is hiring 3,000 teachers to fill staffing gaps, but students vowed to continue protesting for school repairs and to end inequality between schools in richer and poorer areas. Where did massive student-led protests force a high-ranking government official to quit in July?

A. Bangladesh

B. India

C. Indonesia

D. Serbia

B. India’s education minister was ousted after several weeks of growing protests started by students angered when a national entrance exam was cancelled because of leaked test answers. India arrested leaders of that protest and more than 2,000 young people on Saturday to prevent protests against the nation’s election chief.

Q: French education spending has lagged as the government struggles to rein in its public debt. France’s $4 trillion national debt is 118.4% of its annual gross domestic product (GDP). Which nation’s debt rate is higher?

A. Japan

B. Singapore

C. United States

D. All of the above

D. Japan’s debt is 204.4% of its GDP, the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund. Singapore’s 171.9% was the second-highest. The United States’s $40 trillion national debt is 125.8% of its GDP, and it is the ninth-highest. France ranks 13th. All these nations face rising pension costs for their aging populations.

Q: Education spending doesn’t necessarily determine how well students perform on international tests covering science, math, and reading. Which nation’s 15-year-olds scored the highest on the exams while it spent less of its GDP on education?

A. China

B. Japan

C. Singapore

D. United States

C. Singapore spends 2.2% of its GDP on education, and its students had the highest scores on the PISA tests. Second-place China spends 3.9%, while third-place Japan spends 3.3%. The U.S. spends 5.4% of GPD on education and ranked 18th. French students ranked 26th on the tests while spending 5.3% of GDP, slightly less than the U.S.

Q: French schools needing the most repairs and facing the biggest teacher shortages are in low-income areas. On income inequality, France ranked near the middle of a 2025 list from the World Bank. Which nation had the most equal distribution of income?

A. Colombia

B. India

C. Malaysia

D. Norway

B. India had the lowest income inequality, while Colombia and South Africa had the highest inequality.