There are new results out from two international school achievement tests:
The U.S. average mathematics score at grade 4 (541)
was higher than the international TIMSS scale average,
which is set at 500.
• At grade 4, the United States was among the top 15
education systems in mathematics (8 education systems
had higher averages and 6 were not measurably
different) and scored higher, on average, than 42
education systems.
• The 8 education systems with average mathematics
scores above the U.S. score were Singapore, Korea,
Hong Kong-CHN, Chinese Taipei-CHN, Japan,
Northern Ireland-GBR, North Carolina-USA, and
Belgium (Flemish)-BEL. ...
• At grade 8, the United States was among the top 24
education systems in mathematics (11 education
systems had higher averages and 12 were not
measurably different) and scored higher, on average,
than 32 education systems.
• The 11 education systems with average mathematics
scores above the U.S. score were Korea, Singapore,
Chinese Taipei-CHN, Hong Kong-CHN, Japan,
Massachusetts-USA, Minnesota-USA, the Russian
Federation, North Carolina-USA, Quebec-CAN, and
Indiana-USA.
At grade 8, the United States was among the top
23 education systems in science (12 education
systems had higher averages and 10 were
not measurably different) and scored higher,
on average, than 33 education systems.
• The 12 education systems with average science scores
above the U.S. score were Singapore, MassachusettsUSA,
Chinese Taipei-CHN, Korea, Japan, MinnesotaUSA,
Finland, Alberta-CAN, Slovenia, the Russian
Federation, Colorado-USA, and Hong Kong-CHN.
For example, here is 8th grade math:
| Grade 8 |
|---|
| Education system | | Average score |
|---|
| TIMSS scale average | | 500 | |
|---|
| Korea, Rep. of | | 613 | △ |
|---|
| Singapore1 | | 611 | △ |
|---|
| Chinese Taipei-CHN | | 609 | △ |
|---|
| Hong Kong-CHN | | 586 | △ |
|---|
| Japan | | 570 | △ |
|---|
| Russian Federation1 | | 539 | △ |
|---|
| Israel2 | | 516 | |
|---|
| Finland | | 514 | |
|---|
| United States1 | | 509 | |
|---|
| England-GBR3 | | 507 | |
|---|
| Hungary | | 505 | |
|---|
| Australia | | 505 | |
|---|
| Slovenia | | 505 | |
|---|
| Lithuania4 | | 502 | |
|---|
| Italy | | 498 | ▽ |
|---|
| New Zealand | | 488 | ▽ |
|---|
| Kazakhstan | | 487 | ▽ |
|---|
| Sweden | | 484 | ▽ |
|---|
| Ukraine | | 479 | ▽ |
|---|
| Norway | | 475 | ▽ |
|---|
| Armenia | | 467 | ▽ |
|---|
| Romania | | 458 | ▽ |
|---|
| United Arab Emirates | | 456 | ▽ |
|---|
| Turkey | | 452 | ▽ |
|---|
| Lebanon | | 449 | ▽ |
|---|
| Malaysia | | 440 | ▽ |
|---|
| Georgia4,5 | | 431 | ▽ |
|---|
| Thailand | | 427 | ▽ |
|---|
| Macedonia, Rep. of6 | | 426 | ▽ |
|---|
| Tunisia | | 425 | ▽ |
|---|
| Chile | | 416 | ▽ |
|---|
| Iran, Islamic Rep. of6 | | 415 | ▽ |
|---|
| Qatar6 | | 410 | ▽ |
|---|
| Bahrain6 | | 409 | ▽ |
|---|
| Jordan6 | | 406 | ▽ |
|---|
| Palestinian Nat'l Auth.6 | | 404 | ▽ |
|---|
| Saudi Arabia6 | | 394 | ▽ |
|---|
| Indonesia6 | | 386 | ▽ |
|---|
| Syrian Arab Republic6 | | 380 | ▽ |
|---|
| Morocco7 | | 371 | ▽ |
|---|
| Oman6 | | 366 | ▽ |
|---|
| Ghana7 | | 331 | ▽ |
|---|
| | | |
|---|
| Benchmarking education systems | | | |
|---|
| Massachusetts-USA1,4 | | 561 | △ |
|---|
| Minnesota-USA4 | | 545 | △ |
|---|
| North Carolina-USA2,4 | | 537 | △ |
|---|
| Quebec-CAN | | 532 | △ |
|---|
| Indiana-USA1,4 | | 522 | △ |
|---|
| Colorado-USA4 | | 518 | |
|---|
| Connecticut-USA1,4 | | 518 | |
|---|
| Florida-USA1,4 | | 513 | |
|---|
| Ontario-CAN1 | | 512 | |
|---|
| Alberta-CAN1 | | 505 | |
|---|
| California-USA1,4 | | 493 | ▽ |
|---|
| Dubai-UAE | | 478 | ▽ |
|---|
| Alabama-USA4 | | 466 | ▽ |
|---|
| Abu Dhabi-UAE | | 449 | ▽ |
|---|
| △ Average score is higher than U.S. average score. |
| ▽ Average score is lower than U.S. average score. |
There are a bunch of different tables like this for different subjects in different grades, so don't take this one all that seriously. I just plunked it in because it was handy.
Here's 8th grade science:
| Grade 8 |
|---|
| Education system | | Average score |
|---|
| TIMSS scale average | | 500 | |
|---|
| Singapore1 | | 590 | △ |
|---|
| Chinese Taipei-CHN | | 564 | △ |
|---|
| Korea, Rep. of | | 560 | △ |
|---|
| Japan | | 558 | △ |
|---|
| Finland | | 552 | △ |
|---|
| Slovenia | | 543 | △ |
|---|
| Russian Federation1 | | 542 | △ |
|---|
| Hong Kong-CHN | | 535 | △ |
|---|
| England-GBR2 | | 533 | |
|---|
| United States1 | | 525 | |
|---|
| Hungary | | 522 | |
|---|
| Australia | | 519 | |
|---|
| Israel3 | | 516 | |
|---|
| Lithuania4 | | 514 | ▽ |
|---|
| New Zealand | | 512 | ▽ |
|---|
| Sweden | | 509 | ▽ |
|---|
| Italy | | 501 | ▽ |
|---|
| Ukraine | | 501 | ▽ |
|---|
| Norway | | 494 | ▽ |
|---|
| Kazakhstan | | 490 | ▽ |
|---|
| Turkey | | 483 | ▽ |
|---|
| Iran, Islamic Rep. of | | 474 | ▽ |
|---|
| Romania | | 465 | ▽ |
|---|
| United Arab Emirates | | 465 | ▽ |
|---|
| Chile | | 461 | ▽ |
|---|
| Bahrain | | 452 | ▽ |
|---|
| Thailand | | 451 | ▽ |
|---|
| Jordan | | 449 | ▽ |
|---|
| Tunisia | | 439 | ▽ |
|---|
| Armenia | | 437 | ▽ |
|---|
| Saudi Arabia | | 436 | ▽ |
|---|
| Malaysia | | 426 | ▽ |
|---|
| Syrian Arab Republic | | 426 | ▽ |
|---|
| Palestinian Nat'l Auth. | | 420 | ▽ |
|---|
| Georgia4,5 | | 420 | ▽ |
|---|
| Oman | | 420 | ▽ |
|---|
| Qatar | | 419 | ▽ |
|---|
| Macedonia, Rep. of | | 407 | ▽ |
|---|
| Lebanon | | 406 | ▽ |
|---|
| Indonesia | | 406 | ▽ |
|---|
| Morocco | | 376 | ▽ |
|---|
| Ghana6 | | 306 | ▽ |
|---|
| | | |
|---|
| Benchmarking education systems | | | |
|---|
| Massachusetts-USA1,4 | | 567 | △ |
|---|
| Minnesota-USA4 | | 553 | △ |
|---|
| Alberta-CAN1 | | 546 | △ |
|---|
| Colorado-USA4 | | 542 | △ |
|---|
| Indiana-USA1,4 | | 533 | |
|---|
| Connecticut-USA1,4 | | 532 | |
|---|
| North Carolina-USA3,4 | | 532 | |
|---|
| Florida-USA1,4 | | 530 | |
|---|
| Ontario-CAN1 | | 521 | |
|---|
| Quebec-CAN | | 520 | |
|---|
| California-USA1,4 | | 499 | ▽ |
|---|
| Alabama-USA4 | | 485 | ▽ |
|---|
| Dubai-UAE | | 485 | ▽ |
|---|
| Abu Dhabi-UAE | | 461 | ▽ |
|---|
| △ Average score is higher than U.S. average score. |
| ▽ Average score is lower than U.S. average score. |
I have no idea how representative the samples are, or how hard the students felt like trying.
These things are a
lot of work to set up. Think of how hard it would be to coordinate all over the world in all these different languages. Then try to think about all the things that could go wrong if you were in charge. It's pretty daunting.
Looking at all 53 education systems that participated in PIRLS at grade 4 (i.e., both countries and other education systems), the United States was among the top 13 education systems in average reading scores. The five education systems that had higher average scores were Hong Kong-CHN, FloridaUSA, the Russian Federation, Finland, and Singapore. Seven education systems, Northern Ireland-GBR, Denmark, Croatia, Chinese Taipei-CHN, Ontario-CAN, Ireland, and England-GBR, had average scores not measurably different from the U.S. average score. The United States had higher average reading scores than 40 education systems.
| Education system |
Overall reading average scale score |
|
| PIRLS scale average |
500 |
|
| Hong Kong-CHN1 |
571 |
|
| Russian Federation |
568 |
|
| Finland |
568 |
|
| Singapore2 |
567 |
|
| Northern Ireland-GBR3 |
558 |
|
| United States2 |
556 |
|
| Denmark2 |
554 |
|
| Croatia2 |
553 |
|
| Chinese Taipei-CHN |
553 |
|
| Ireland |
552 |
|
| England-GBR3 |
552 |
|
| Canada2 |
548 |
|
| Netherlands3 |
546 |
|
| Czech Republic |
545 |
|
| Sweden |
542 |
| Italy |
541 |
|
| Germany |
541 |
|
| Israel1 |
541 |
|
| Portugal |
541 |
| Hungary |
539 |
| Slovak Republic |
535 |
| Bulgaria |
532 |
|
| New Zealand |
531 |
|
| Slovenia |
530 |
|
| Austria |
529 |
| Lithuania2,4 |
528 |
| Australia |
527 |
 
|
| Poland |
526 |
|
| France |
520 |
|
| Spain |
513 |
|
| Norway5 |
507 |
| Belgium (French)-BEL2,3 |
506 |
|
| Romania |
502 |
|
| Georgia4,6 |
488 |
|
| Malta |
477 |
|
| Trinidad and Tobago |
471 |
|
| Azerbaijan2,6 |
462 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. of |
457 |
|
| Colombia |
448 |
| United Arab Emirates |
439 |
|
| Saudi Arabia |
430 |
|
| Indonesia |
428 |
|
| Qatar2 |
425 |
| Oman7 |
391 |
|
| Morocco8 |
310 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Benchmarking
education systems |
|
| Florida-USA1,4 |
569 |
|
| Ontario-CAN2 |
552 |
|
| Alberta-CAN2 |
548 |
|
| Quebec-CAN |
538 |
|
| Andalusia-ESP |
515 |
| Dubai-UAE |
476 |
| Maltese-MLT |
457 |
 
|
| Dhabi-UAE |
424 |
|
Posts
23 comments:
Israel went up 17 places. I hope there was no cheating involved.
The rankings appear to be quite different from the PISA results. For example, the US and Russia do rather well here, and some countries, e.g., Australia and New Zealand, surprisingly poorly.
I don't believe these scores. The US is ranked too high.
It's striking how poor Muslim countries are performing, even superrich oil nations like Qatar. You can also see this effect in Western countries in that those with a large Muslim minority, like for instance Sweden is clearly outperformed by Finland in spite of the two countries being so similar in most other ways.
Interesting results, though it is as we expect: not so much the education system as it is the inherent abilities of the people in the system.
Florida USA ranked high a couple of times, which tells me the results come from some selected areas. Florida's school results overall are a bit dismal. From my experience, less ambitious people move there because the "living is easy".
I calculated some correlations between the PISA 2009 (15-y/o's), TIMSS 2011 (8th grade), and PIRLS 2011 (10-y/o's).
The correlation between PISA 2009 math and TIMSS 2011 math is 0.87 (n=26). In both studies, East Asians are at the top, white-majority countries at the middle, and others at the bottom. However, if you look only at white-majority countries, the correlation is 0.19 (n=13). Russia and Israel do particularly well in the TIMSS compared to the PISA. The former is supposed to be a more math-heavy test compared to the latter which is a test of "mathematics literacy".
In the US, the racial breakdown of the TIMSS scores in grade 8 is as follows (SD=100):
White 530
Black 465
Hispanic 485
Asian 568
Multiracial 513
Hispanics slightly outscore Norway and Sweden in the TIMSS, while Norway and Sweden score only slightly (0.1 SD or so) higher than US blacks. In the PISA math test, Norway and Sweden outscored US Hispanics by 0.3-0.4 SD and US blacks by about 0.7 SD.
The correlation between PISA 2009 reading and PIRLS 2011 is 0.81 (n=36). Among white-majority countries (n=18) the correlation is 0.24.
In the US, the racial breakdown of the PIRLS scores is as follows (SD=100):
White 575
Black 522
Hispanic 532
Asian 588
Multiracial 578
The black average is higher than that of, for example, France, Spain, Norway, and Belgium. In the PISA reading test, each of those four countries outscored US blacks by more than 0.5 SD.
Florida or Texas do bad because of hispanics. Granted, there hispanics do better than Californias but the big urban areas there are like La or Santa Ana do many hispanics. North Carolona does good for 19th percent black.
Where the hell is India? Is it possible that they scored worse than Ghana? Maybe they should be booted from the whole BRICs club. Seriously, India got more poor people than all 54 african countries combined!
And where does india score on the IQ scale, I'm really curious. Maybe this whole asians are smarter thing, only applies to the chinese and japs.
And how does an Afro-Caribean country like Trinidad beat so many mostly caucasian muslim and south american states? Even in PISA Trinidad ranks ahead of states like Qatar. You would think that theyd be down the list with their cousin Ghana. Maybe its time to redefine the racial categories of the world, coz some of our caucasian 'brothers' are letting us down.
I don't believe these scores. The US is ranked too high.
Russia also may be ranked too high:
http://alfin2100.blogspot.com/2012/11/putins-russia-crumbling-of-potemkin.html
http://alfin2100.blogspot.com/2012/11/business-in-russia-etc-worrisome-future.html
It would be nice to have the standard deviations for each country. They are interesting in themselves. Also, one could do a racial-composition adjustment then.
..
Here's an HBD Dictionary:
http://www.humanbiologicaldiversity.com/#Dictionary
..
I wonder if the USA scores are more heavily represented by white and Asian students than in other surveys which show the USA not doing very well. I would agree that the stereotypical stupidity of Americans, especially white Americans, is somewhat overblown.
I've taught undergraduate and graduate students, both domestic and international, for fifteen years, and I can assure you that the average US domestic undergrad is VASTLY more prepared in math and science than the average incoming international grad student.
Yeah. Americans just aren't trying hard. That's why we aren't number 1.
Way to go Alberta! No idea why they do so poorly in math compared to science and reading.
I'm surprised that California ranked as high as it did (although still pretty dismal IMHO).
Probably relied on test results from wealthy white/Asian suburbs in Silicon Valley.
No China or Shanghai results/participation?
goatweed
I wonder if it makes more sense to compare the top quarter of students, instead of the averages. The top quarter are the ones that are going to be in charge. For the bottom quarter, who will never really contribute much to society, they just need basic skills.
Comparing reading across countries is problematic because some languages are much easier to learn than others. For instance, while Finnish may be difficult for native English speakers to learn, if you grow up speaking and reading Finnish, spelling will almost never be a problem: there's pretty standard orthography, without weird spellings. English, on the other hand, is filled with odd spellings, with silent letters, dropped letters, homonyms, etc.
http://www.amren.com/news/2012/12/whites-stayed-home-and-re-elected-obama/
Here's a nature versus factoid. Israeli Arab 8th graders got 465 on the math test, which is higher than UAE, Turkey, Iran, Syria. Jordan. Morocco, PA, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
seems too affected by motivation and interest levels.
@Anon, Trinidad has 45% Indian population mainly derived from low caste farm workers
I am surprised that Mr. Sailer uses this term:
“Benchmarking education systems Florida-USA 569”.
I doubt that it should be “system”.
See “Bad Students, not Bad Schools”
by Robert Weissberg,
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Students-Not-Schools/dp/141281345X
Meanwhile I am glad for my state of Florida.
Two my kids did OK here.
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