To make a positive change in ranking of the U.S. in a category, we must have

The National Assessment Day is an attempt to give us the knowledge that better scores are possible.

By some measures, the U.S. scores will improve from one year to the next because other countries do worse, not because the U.S. does better. A country hit by a natural disaster may incur lower longevity. Countries engaging in war or economic crisis or plagues will doubtless score lower. Hopefully, when the U.S. considers our options for improvement, we only consider the ways in which we can improve ourselves, not the ways in which we can use our resources to reduce the scores of other nations.

Barriers to improving US Ranks: