Monday, December 29, 2008
Doing well in maths and science but not enjoying it.
The latest international tables place England in the top 10 of 59 countries, but the same report found that English students reported not enjoying studying maths in school.
The Trends in International Science and Maths survey (TIMSS) is one of the largest surveys of international pupil achievement in maths and science with each of the 59 countries taking part sampling 4,00 pupils in 150 schools. The survey is run every four years and the results of the 2007 survey have just been published.
England was ranked 7th overall in both maths and science with the highest ranking of 5th for primary science achievement. This was a significant improvement on the 2003 ranking of around 14th. The survey puts England ahead of comparable countries including Germany, Italy America and Australia. The highest ranking countries were repeated from the 2003 survey with Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Japan topping the tables for primary and secondary attainment.
In Scotland, primary pupils were ranked 22nd for maths and 15th for science and secondary pupils were 23rd for science and 17th for maths. Wales and Northern Ireland did not take part in the survey.
The Timss also records student attitudes to science and maths in each country taking part. In contrast to the high ranking for attainment the English students reported low levels of enjoyment in studying maths and science in school compared to students in other countries. Levels of enjoyment had dropped from the previous survey in 2003 by an average of 10% among English students.
The news that students in the UK enjoy studying maths less than many of their peers in comparable countries may be troubling for the UK government in light of its announcement this month of a plan to introduce a double Maths GCSE in English schools. The pilot starting in 2010 will allow students to study a maths course resulting in two GCSEs. The single maths GCSE will remain an option with the double award open to those who choose to study maths in more depth.
To read the TIMSS results in full, visit http://nces.ed.gov/timss/results07.asp