(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina legislators are trying to find answers to why other countries are outpacing American students in school.   The House Select Committee on Education Reform heard from the former head of the NC Public School Forum.

John Dornan said other countries tend to focus on the "best and brightest" students. "The top countries are recruiting teachers from the upper 20 percent of high school graduation classes. That is not true in the U.S. We typically are recruiting people from the bottom half of high school graduates," said Dornan.

He also said he found that schools abroad address learning issues early on, while American schools more often than not diagnose learning disabilities in later years of schooling. Dornan's presentation before the House Select Committee on Education Reform focused on methods practiced in 10 countries including Denmark, Finland Ireland and India.