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Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 21:37:07 -0800
To: Arthur Hu <arthurhu@halcyon.com>
From: Wayne Bishop <wbishop@calstatela.edu>
Subject: Re: HELP! PRESIDENT CLINTON'S SPEECH ON SAT SCORES.
Cc: education-consumers@ripple.dundee.net
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 .edu@lists.dundee.net>
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At 10:32 AM 1/22/99 -0800, arthur hu wrote:
>===================================
>It's true, and almost a well kept secret that in math the US was among
>the top 4 or 5 nations in 4th grade on the TIMSS. We're further 
>behind in the upper grades, ...


It's also a well kept secret that the 4th grade results need some massaging to
look that good:


Singapore               625
Korea           611
Japan                   597
Hong Kong               587
Netherlands             577
Czech Republic  567
Austria         559
Slovenia                552
Ireland         550
Hungary         548
Australia               546
United States           545


Mean                    529


http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/report/97255.pdf


Still, it's an OK score but not high.  Depending on the goal, they waffle on
whether or not the Czech score is higher and sometimes even the Netherlands. 
Indisputable is that it's poor by eighth and terrible by twelfth.  Another
deliberate misrepresentation is that the "high" score at 4th reflects success
in the math reform movement that has not reached 8th let alone 12th.  The fact
is that a traditionally well-trained, college-intending U.S. student would
score competitively on the TIMSS at the 12th.  Another way to look at how the
data is misinterpreted is to look at the curriculum of the top country,
Singapore.  Since most of the education is in English, no translation of
materials is necessary.  I have the entire precollegiate curriculum, some four
feet of stuff including the two tracks and teachers guides, and there's nothing
"reform" about it.  It's just good mathematics well presented.  Surprise.


Wayne.
.