Researchers in the US have released the latest figures comparing the maths and science abilities of 4th- and 8th-grade students in countries across the globe.
Far Eastern countries dominate the top tens, with Singapore top for science in both 4th and 8th grade. In maths, Hong Kong tops the 4th grade scores, with ‘Chinese Taipei’ leading the 8th. (Image right shows the percentage of fourth-grade students who reached the TIMSS advanced international benchmark in science in the top ten countries. See full graph.)
As the New York Times points out, this should worry the US as these subjects “are crucial to economic competitiveness and research”.
“It was good to see that the United States has made some progress in math, but I was surprised by the magnitude of the gap between us and the highest performing Asian countries, and that should cause us some concern,” Ina Mullis, of the International Study Center at Boston College that directs the study, told the paper.
Of course this is perfect chance for the world’s media to either gloat or wail…
In London, the Times worries that English pupils aren’t enjoying their lessons:
The report, published yesterday, showed that England had risen up the league table and was kept from the top only by Far Eastern countries, notably South Korea, Japan and Singapore. But pupils’ enjoyment of maths and science plummeted over the same period, raising questions about whether high attainment was being achieved by drilling for tests and at the expense of imparting a passion for the subjects.
The Financial Times is worried about the Middle East:
Only Bahraini science students have come close to saving the Arab world’s blushes as Middle East students performed poorly in mathematics and sciences testing, according to results released on Tuesday. Despite relatively high government spending on education compared to other emerging markets, all Middle East countries measured in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study came below the average score for both fourth grade and eight grade students.
Israel has its own figures, which agree with TIMSS. They aren’t great, says Haaretz:
“Junior high schools are in a deep crisis,” Education Minister Yuli Tamir said. “In order for us to end it, we have to carry out reforms. Unfortunately, because of disputes with teachers’ unions, we managed to introduce reforms in only a small number of junior high schools.”
CzechNews is more worried about what the tests actually mean:
Czech students may have tendencies to memorize everything, with no ability to think independently, but as for the knowledge of mathematics, they beat their counterparts from Europe and North America. But only in the 8th grade.
And for some totally baffling reason the Chinese state news service Xinhua has decided to single out Austria for criticism:
Austrian elementary school students are at least one year behind schedule in math and natural sciences compared to students in top countries, a study published on Tuesday said. The annual Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) showed Austrian students in the fourth grade rank No. 17 in math with 505 points, 101 points less than No. 1 Chinese Hong Kong.