12/28/2010
The late Gerald Bracey observed that there are many problems with using the TIMSS as a valid instrument for comparing the US with other nations. Ages are not comparable, Iceland students are US college senior age. It has calculus questions which is a college topic in the US, and US sends more to college than most other nations. Norwegians study 3 years of physics. There is no standard on what end-of-high-school age is, and many aren't even in school in some nations.
This is what I figured out back in 2004 for 4th graders:
From 2004: TIMSS 2003 4TH GRADE RESULT z85\clipim\2004\12\timss03.pdf http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005005.pdf Singapore Girl 599 Singapore 594 Singapore Boy 590 Hong Kong SAR 575 US low poverty 567 Japan 565 Chinese Taipei 564 US Asian 551 --- ASIANS TO BEAT ----- Belgium-Flemish 551 US White 542 Netherlands 540 Latvia 536 Lithuania 534 Russian Feder. 532 England 531 Hungary 529 US Boys 522 ------SHAME------- United States 518 ------SHAME------- US Girls 514 Cyprus 510 Moldavia 504 Italy 503 Australia 499 --- average --- 495 New Zealand 493 US Hispanic 492 Scotland 490 Slovenia 479 US Black 472 US 75% LUNCH 471 --- LOW END EUROPE ---- Armenia 456 Norway 451 Iran 389 Philippines 358 Morocco 347 Tunisia 339 US race from Table C8 Appendix CIn 2010, it makes mainstream with Pat Buchanan (Town Hall) quoting from Steve Sailer in "Who Owns The Future”. Sailer finds what I’v been suggesting to him and others for years – that if you break down the Americans by race, OUR Asians do better than than any other Asian nation except the top Shangai, OUR whites do better than every European nation except #1 Finland, and of course, OUR blacks and Hispanics are light years ahead of any African or Latin American nations.
So rather than concluding like liberals that American schools are failing, if you take into account that American groups are DIFFERENT in history and educational capital, we do BETTER or at least nearly as good as the best FOR EVERY AMERICAN RACIAL GROUP. What’s wrong is the idea that American schools fail blacks, hispanics or whites when:
“What American schools are failing at, despite the trillions poured into schools since the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is closing the racial divide. We do not know how to close the gap in reading, science and math between Anglo and Asian students and black and Hispanic students. And from the PISA tests, neither does any other country on earth. The gap between the test scores of East Asian and European nations and those of Latin America and African nations mirrors the gap between Asian and white students in the U.S. and black and Hispanic students in the U.S "
Which is why I say what’s crap is the idea that ANY two groups NEED to be equal in anything, or they are a failure. What I say is as long as you are doing the best job you possibly can and you are as nice as you can possibly be, that’s what we need to worry about. Arguing about who needs to be equal with whom, or why you don't like people who are higher or lower in status than you lead to more war and conflicts than anyone can count compared to people who are willing to be happy with themselves and their neighbors just the way they are.
But we're NOT doing everything we can. The “fix” the progressive education establishment has tailored for blacks and hispanics (fuzzy no-arithmetic math, no facts science, no dates history, no phonics/grammar reading/writing, multiculturalism, affirmative action, racial equity) is EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of what every study finds is why Asians do better than whites (study, study and study some more, AIM to score HIGHER, not EQUAL to the next guy). We need to bring Blacks and Hispanics up as close as possible rather than equal with RIGOROUS ACADEMICS AND MASTERING THE !#$% BASIC MATERIAL INSTEAD OF PROGRESSIVE RACIAL EQUITY POLITICS.
@@Anti-Reform \clip\98\06\timsref.txt Editorial, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sunday, March 1, 1998 "Wobegon" (anti-reform editorial): Clinton is right. But -- as expected -- he exploits the dismal scores to plug an education agenda ill-suited to the task. Chester Finn -- a former Assistant Secretary of Education -- rebuts his policies: @@AP students TIMSS AP students AP students didn't do much better than international average on TIMSS Calculus @@Asian American Comparing the TIMSS with the NAEP, two other people besides me have figured out that Asians who go to crappy American schools score just as high as Asians in Taiwan and Korea! Pat Buchanan and Steve Sailer have also figured this out. Pat Buchanan: Who Owns the Future? Town Hall 12/28/2910from the article: Steve Sailer of VDARE.com got the full list of 65 nations, broke down U.S. reading scores by race, then measured Americans with the countries and continents whence their families originated. What he found was surprising.
Asian-Americans outperform all Asian students except for Shanghai-Chinese. White Americans outperform students from all 37 predominantly white nations except Finns, and U.S. Hispanics outperformed the students of all eight Latin American countries that participated in the tests. African-American kids would have outscored the students of any sub-Saharan African country that took the test (none did) and did outperform the only black country to participate, Trinidad and Tobago, by 25 points. America's public schools, then, are not abject failures. They are educating immigrants and their descendants to outperform the kinfolk their parents or ancestors left behind when they came to America. America's schools are improving the academic performance of all Americans above what it would have been had they not come to America. What American schools are failing at, despite the trillions poured into schools since the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is closing the racial divide. We do not know how to close the gap in reading, science and math between Anglo and Asian students and black and Hispanic students. And from the PISA tests, neither does any other country on earth. . The gap between the test scores of East Asian and European nations and those of Latin America and African nations mirrors the gap between Asian and white students in the U.S. and black and Hispanic students in the U.S.
Here is the 2009 report http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011004.pdf
ONLY US READING SCORES WERE POSTED BY ETHNICITY Table 5. Average scores of U.S. 15-year-old students on combined reading literacy scale, by race/ ethnicity: 2009 Race/ethnicity Score s.e. 500 U.S. average 525 White, non-Hispanic 441 Black, non-Hispanic 446 Hispanic 541 Asian, non-Hispanic NM American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic NM Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic 502 Two or more races, non Hispanic 493 OECD average NOTE: Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Students who identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin were classified as Hispanic, regardless of their race. Although data for some race/ethnicities are not shown separately because the reporting standards were not met, they are included in the U.S. totals shown throughout the report. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average is the average of the national averages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Standard error is noted by s.e. SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2009from the report: On the combined reading literacy scale, White (non- Hispanic) and Asian (non-Hispanic) students had higher average scores (525 and 541, respectively) than the overall OECD and U.S. average scores, while Black (non- Hispanic) and Hispanic students had lower average scores (441 and 466, respectively) than the overall OECD and U.S. average scores (table 5). The average scores of students who reported two or more races (502) were not measurably different from the overall OECD or U.S. average scores.
Students at level 3 on the reading literacy scale are typically successful at “reading tasks of moderate complexity, such as locating multiple pieces of information, making links between different parts of a text, and relating it to familiar everyday knowledge,” as described in exhibit 1, and other tasks that might be expected to be commonly demanded of young and older adults across OECD countries in their everyday lives (OECD 2010a, p. 51).
At level 2, which “can be considered a baseline level of proficiency, at which students begin to demonstrate the reading literacy competencies that will enable them to participate effectively and productively in life” (OECD 2010a, p. 52), students can typically locate information that meets several conditions, make comparisons or contrasts around a single feature, determine what a welldefined part of a text means even when the information is not prominent, and make connections between the text and personal experience.
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/101219_pisa.htm
December 19, 2010 PISA Scores Show Demography Is Destiny In Education Too—But Washington Doesn’t Want You To Know
by Steve Sailer
Steve Sailer: It took me two days of looking through the voluminous PISA results to create the simple graph below. It shows what the Great and Good don’t want you to know about the 2009 PISA results: When broken down by ethnicity, American students did reasonably well compared to the countries from which their ancestors came.
In this chart, I’ve depicted American ethnic groups in red to show where they fall relative to other countries, which are colored to reflect their dominant populations
ASIANS IN HAWAII USA JUST AS GOOD AS ASIANS IN TAIWAN, KOREA!
\clip\98\18\factare.txt
http://www.intellectualcapital.com/issues/98/0305/icbusgraph.asp Facts
Are Worthless Without Nuance by Howard Wainer International 1991
Scores Estimated 8th Grade Mathematics NAEP Math Scores for Assessment
Hawaii's Principal (Predicted Ethnic Groups Proficiency for 13 year
olds) Taiwan 286 Chinese Korea 283 Korean, Japanese Soviet Union, 280
[I also figured this out during the early 90s but nobody was
listening! It basically proves that Asians do well no matter which
country runs the schools! Stevenson of U Michigan disagrees, but his
comparisons are not nationally representative]
US ASIANS ARE BEST IN THE WORLD
TAIWAN HAS BETTER AVERAGE, BUT IOWA HAS MUCH HIGHER FLOOR
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kres9811.htm
\clip\99\05\bracres.txt
Test Scores of Nations and States
By Gerald W. Bracey
"The best students in Taiwan outperform the best in Iowa. But
Taiwan's fifth percentile is also substantially lower than Iowa's.
The lowest-performing students in Taiwan score much worse than the
lowest-performing students in Iowa."
These overheads show eighth-grade mathematics data from the 1992
Second International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP-2) and
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).1 The data look
like this:
Top Scorers
Asian students, U.S.
schools 287
Taiwan 285
Iowa 284
Top third of U.S. schools 284
Korea 283
Advantaged urban students,
U.S. 283
Hungary2 277
White students, U.S.
schools 277
It is not clear why Asian American students score higher than anyone
in the world, but at least part of the explanation no doubt has to do
with the fact that, as a group, their parents are better educated and
more prosperous than the nation as a whole
examine NSF 96-52 ( which may be on line), full title is "Indicators
of Science & Mathematics Education 1995" and is a National Science
Foundation publication. Figure 2-19 on page 28 is most interesting.
Want to really know the top 20 countires for math proficiency for 13
years olds? OK, hold your hat, here they are.
1. Tawain
2. Iowa
3. Korea
4. North Dakota
5. Minnesota
6. Soviet Union
7. Switzerland
8. Maine
9. New hampshire
10. Hungary
11. Nebraska
12. Wisconsin
13. Idaho
14. Utah
15. Wyoming
16. Connecticut
17. France
18. Colorado
19. Israel
20. Italy
If one disaggregates the international date, the USA looks very
different from what the popular press writes. Most data are not
carefully analyzed. Don Orlich Pullman, WA 99164-4237
@@Attitude
ATTITUDE OF THE PARENTS
Macroman Wrote: 12/28/2010
http://townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2010/12/28/who_owns_the_future/page/full/
My own experience with my kids' schools and with education in general
(I am a university professor) is that the most important element in
kids' success before college is the attitude of their parents. Asian
kids do well in school because their parents expect them to do well.
Many black and Hispanic kids do badly because their parents do not
demand that the do well. In fact, many of those parents actively
discourage academic success, often because they resent the idea of
their children "being better than they are." I have seen that attitude
myself and have been told about it by black and Hispanic friends who
are appalled by it. Matters are made worse by school systems that
pander to the low expectations of some parents. Where demanding
parents are in the majority, the public schools are good
@@Critical
%%Bracey
Most quoted critic of TIMSS study.
The TIMSS final year report and study a critique -
there is no standard for final year 12 grade, many aren't
even in school.
http://www.aera.net/pubs/er/arts/29-04/bracey01.htm
z42\clipim\2000\06\07\er2904-1.pdf
\clip\99\05\brac8\brac8.txt
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kbra9810.htm The Eighth Bracey
Report on the Condition of Public Education By Gerald W. Bracey
CANADA DRAWN TO SHOW FALSE RANKING OF BOTTOM OF CHART
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kba9810-1.htm#3a
\clip\95\05\brac8\award.htm The With Friends Like These Award goes to
the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training. Recall that Ontario
is home to John Snobelen, the man who as education minister once said
that "you have to generate a sense of crisis" about the education
system. The ministry constructed the graph shown below [Canada is at the
bottom]. But Canada was about average, chart showed only nations
above Canada.
TIMMS UNFAIR COMPARISON
Kappan Professional Journal 8 May 1998
URL: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbra9805.htm
filed: \clip\99\05\timss\dims.txt
TIMSS, Rhymes with 'Dims,' As in 'Witted' By Gerald W. Bracey
Simplistic and misleading statements seriously distort
what the TIMSS official report actually says
* The TIMSS "kids" in Iceland are about the same age as American
college seniors.
* Norwegian kids, who bested the rest of the world, had been studying
physics for three years.
link
\clip\99\05\timss\timss.htm
Tinkering with the TIMSS Gerald Bracey Phi Delta Kappan Sept 1998
"In many countries, it is about grade 13 or grade 14 or about
students in their third year of study of a subject or about students
enrolled in a curriculum concentrated on math and science and little
else."
* Age is not comparable
* Asks Calculus questions when most US
students don't take calculus, some nations only tested science / math
oriented schools where children get 3 years of physics.
* 60% of us students go on to college to take advanced science and
calculus, only half as many in other countries go on to college, plus
most high school students in other countries at age 18 are on
vocational / apprenticeship tracks]
* German college tracks enroll kids in grade 13.
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kwan9809.htm
link \clip\99\05\timss\kwan.htm "A Content Examination
of the TIMSS Items" Phi Delta Kappan Sept 1998. Test items have more
than one correct answer, give a wrong answer, or grade correct
answers as wrong.
%%General
4th grade math was not all that great
4TH GRADE DIDN'T HAVE ALL COMPETITORS 08 Dec 1998 Bruce Crawford
There's more to the story below. Remember,
ten of the countries which bested us in the eighth grade did not
participate in the fourth grade TIMSS. Our improvement at the lower
level was not because of any encouraging developments. Our
"improvement" was because some of the fast horses sat out the
preliminary heat.
DON'T PANIC OVER "LOW" MID/HS SCIENCE SCORES
\clip\98\09\timss2.txt http://www.edweek.org/ew/current/40letend.h17
[June 17, 1998] [Education Week on the Web] International
Competitiveness In Science By Gerald LeTendre and David Baker
The Seventh Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education
\clip\98\08\bracey\bracey.htm Phi Delta Kappan
Magazine timss: People have offered various reasons for the
"slide" from fourth grade to eighth grade in mathematics. I would
contend that it's primarily because mathematics instruction stops for
most students after grade 4 or 5. Thus it is interesting that the
variabilities of Asian nations are not that much smaller than the
variability of Americans at grade 4, and, for the most part, this
variability increases from grade 4 to grade 8 to become larger than
the U.S. variability in mathematics. Goya contended that the
curriculum in Japanese high schools is tough and unbending and that
at the advanced levels up to 95% of the students don't know what is
going on
z49\clipim\2001\04\25\backslid.gif 150dpi
2000 STUDY: US 8TH GRADERS DO WORSE LONGER THEY STAY IN SCHOOL
U.S. Students Backslide on International Retest Wall Street Journal
Dec 2000 (?) June Kronholz - concludes US 4th graders who did well in
1995 fell to slightly above average, and worse if compared against
the original countries in 1995. "the repeat test was designed
to see if children who did well on the earlier fourth grade
test could sustain their achievement" .. "results showed
US children did worse the longer they stayed in school" [But US
4th graders did well, even though low TIMSS scores are given as
reason we have to adopt fuzzy math]
In a quadrilateral, if you have two 115 deg, third 70 deg, what
is remaining angle *a)60 b)70 c)130 d)140 e) none US 19% Int 40%
What is area of shaded rectangle in a parallelogram? (20 sq cm)
US 34% Int 43%
->3 <---
+-------+ v
/ | |/ 4
+--------+ ^
<---8cm-->
. \clip\98\08\bracey.txt
Copyright 1998 by Gerald W. Bracey. AN OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY OF
EDUCATION RICHARD RILEY By Gerald W. Bracey March 27, 1998 [TIMSS
results are not valid, not excuse to abandon public education]
American Prospect article says
there is no correlation between TIMSS scores and economic dominance
of a county.
TIMSS IS NOT ACCURATE MEASURE OF US PERFORMANCE
"Bob Barbara Tennison" 3 Mar 1998 19:29:38 -0800
I don't know what is being said in the press in your neck of the
woods but around here the it is being pointed out that the TIMMS is
NOT an accurate gauge of how well our students do in Science and
Math. I have noticed the reference to the TIMMS in cartoons as well
as many editorials. But combining the best of all the editorials and
letters to the editor are the following thoughts.
1. In the U.S. we test ALL our students.
2. In Japan, England and elsewhere they test ONLY their high achievers.
3. In the U.S. students do not hit their stride in science and math UNTIL
they go to college, because...
High School Teachers are NOT proficient in science and math
College Professors are more likely to use validated research and require
that their students validate their own research
4. If we are so bad, why are the Pacific Rim countries knocking down the
doors of our colleges and universities to get their kids in?
It makes me "feel good" to hear so many people on the local, state and
national level, saying that the TIMMS is bogus and we as parents shouldn't
put too much faith in the test results.
Bob & Barbara Tennison
@@Finland
(begin)
Why do Finland's schools get the best results?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8601207.stm
Finland's schools score consistently at the top of world rankings, yet
the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed
world.
By Tom Burridge
BBC World News America, Helsinki
Last year more than 100 foreign delegations and governments visited
Helsinki, hoping to learn the secret of their schools' success.
In 2006, Finland's pupils scored the highest average results in science
and reading in the whole of the developed world. In the OECD's exams
for 15 year-olds, known as PISA, they also came second in maths, beaten
only by teenagers in South Korea.
Children in Finland only start main school at age seven. The idea is
that before then they learn best when they're playing and by the time
they finally get to school they are keen to start learning.
(end)
@@General
@@News
\clip\2004\12\pisa.txt
NYC HOLD Honest Open Logical Debate on Mathematics Education Reform www.nychold.com _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Christian Science Monitor
December 7, 2004
-http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1207/p01s04-ussc.html
Math + test = trouble for US economy
First-of-its kind study shows US lags many other nations in real-life math skills.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
US 15-year-olds scored measurably better than their counterparts in
only 3 of 30 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development in a new test of problem-solving in math. Below are
results for 10 of the nations.
Country Score
S. Korea 550
Japan 547
Canada 529
France 519
Czech Rep. 516
Germany 513
Spain 482
US 477
Italy 470
Mexico 384
OECD average 500
Source: OECD Program for International Student Assessment, 2003
TIMSS 2003 4TH GRADE RESULT
z85\clipim\2004\12\timss03.pdf
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005005.pdf
Singapore Girl 599
Singapore 594
Singapore Boy 590
Hong Kong SAR 575
US low lunch 567
Japan 565
Chinese Taipei 564
US Asian 551
----BEAT ASIANS -----
Belgium-Flemish 551
US White 542
Netherlands 540
Latvia 536
Lithuania 534
Russian Feder. 532
England 531
Hungary 529
US Boys 522
------SHAME-------
United States 518
------SHAME-------
US Girls 514
Cyprus 510
Moldavia 504
Italy 503
Australia 499
--- average --- 495
New Zealand 493
US Hispanic 492
Scotland 490
Slovenia 479
US Black 472
US 75% LUNCH 471
--- BACKWARD CAUCASIANS ----
Armenia 456
Norway 451
Iran 389
Philippines 358
Morocco 347
Tunisia 339
US race from Table C8 Appendix C
Note US Asians comparable to best Asian nations
US Blacks comparable to below-average Europeans
Singapore girls score better than boys.
8TH GRADE
Singapore 605
Korea, ROK 589
Hong Kong SAR 586
Chinese Taipei 585
Japan 570
Belgium 537
Netherlands 536
Estonia 531
Hungary 529
US White 525
--- Better than US -----
Malaysia 508
Latvia 508
Russian Fed 508
Slovak Rep. 508
Australia 505
United States 504 std dev=80
Lithuania 502
Sweden 499
Scotland 498
Israel 496 (Jewish)
New Zealand 494
--- Lower than US -----
Slovenia 493
Italy 484
Armenia 478
Serbia 477
Bulgaria 476
Norway 461
US Hispanic 457
US Black 444
Iran 411
Indonesia 411
Palestinean National Authority 390
Chile 387
Philppines 378
Botswana 366
Saudi Arabia 332
Ghana 276
South Africa 264
US Asians not broken out in 8th grade
US Blacks comparable to lower Europeans
African and Arab nations fare poorly though they
invented algebra.
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/edop10.shtml
z47\clip\2000\12\achmath.txt Improve what we’re teaching our kids
Sunday, December 10, 2000 By LOUIS V. GERSTNER JR. and TOMMY G.
THOMPSON GUEST COLUMNISTS [Achieve] "What American schools consider
eighth-grade math is barely sixth-grade math in countries like The
Netherlands and Singapore. "
2000 TIMSS-R WE'RE ABOVE AVERAGE, BUT THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH
The spin on the 2000 test is that it's nice that our 4th graders are
still on top, but they didn't stay on top in 8th grade, and we're in
crisis even though we're above the international average, and we
still need to raise standards to world class levels even though
international average _IS_ world class.
z47\clip\2000\12\math8.htm US eighth-graders beat global average in
math By Gail Russell Chaddock (chaddockg@csps.com) Staff writer of
The Christian Science Monitor 12/6/2000
A club has 86 members, but 14 more girls than boys. How many
boys and girls?
x = number of boys
x + (14 + x ) = 86
2x + 14 = 86
2x + 14 - 14 = 86 - 14
2x / 2 = 72 / 2
x = 36 boys
86 - 36 = 50 girls
-------------------------------------------------------------
72% Singapore
66% Taipei
40% Russia
33% World Average
29% US
Source: Boston College, TIMSS
MATH REFORM FAILS TO DENT US MATH PROGRESS ON TIMSS
U.S. Students Fail to Keep Up in Global Science and Math Tests
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/06/national/06EXAM.html December 6,
2000 By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 Four years after
American fourth-grade students scored high on an international test
of science and math, their performance declined markedly when they
reached the eighth grade, The reforms on which their hopes hinged,
included the efforts of school districts to bring uniformity and
coherence to science and math curriculums... and to raise standards.
US TOPS IN 4TH GRADE, LAGGING BY G12
http://archives.seattletimes.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=harv07&date=20000507
z42\clip\2000\06\harvey.txt .HTM
Seattle Times Company
Sunday, May 07, 2000
The higher the grade level, the lower the scores for American students
by James Harvey Special to The Times
z42\clipim\2000\05\16\transform\transform.htm
http://www.brook.edu/comm/transcripts/20000320.htm
Brown Center on Education Policy
and New American Schools
present
Transforming American Schools
A Brown Center Issues in Education Series Event
http://www.brook.edu/press/books/legacy_learning.htm
A Legacy of Learning
Your Stake in Standards and New Kinds of Public Schools
David T. Kearns and
James Harvey
Foreword by George Bush
c. 216 pp. / 2000
Cloth 0-8157-4894-9 $24.95
Brookings Institution Press
\clip\98\05\iqtimss.txt NY TIMES, March 2, 1998 Letters to the Editor
I.Q.'S RISE, YET STUDENTS FALL BACK
\clip\98\06\newscl01.txt 3/1/98 New York Times Tests Prove That
Nobody's Smart About Intelligence By GEORGE JOHNSON [TIMSS, RISING
NAEP, SAT SCORES, IQ, FLYNN EFFECT, MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES]
US Students Don't Measure Up: Dismal Performance on international
math science test (TIMSS) Feb 24, 1998 San Francisco Examiner. US
among lowest of 21 nations in 12th grade. Science and math are
"repetitive and unchallenging". US teaches one subject per year,
other nations blend disciplines (advocating integrated curriculum?)
US in math = Czech Republic, Italy, Russa. No Asian nations
participated. Science = Czech France, Germany, Russia. Advanced math
= Austraia, Czech, Germany, Italy, but 11 nations, including Russia
were better. In physics, US was last with Austria (but consistently
equal to rival Germany in almost every case!)
z39\clipim\99\12\15\whostop.efx Who's Top Economist March 29, 1997
Rankings of nations show Singapore, Japan at top of 13 yr old math
and science rankings, but also shows controversies. "the average
scores of American and British pupils are mediocre because average
performance is mediocre, not because of some peculiarity at the very
bottom". The scale was scored so 500 was average, the US was average,
not rock bottom out of a very respectable group of advanced nations.
Julia Whitburn of Britains National Institute of Economic and Social
Research has studied math teaching in Japan and Switzerland, some
common factors: (In general, traditional instructivist math)
- more time is spent on basic arithmetic rather than general topics
such as handling data (statistics?)
- pupils learn to do sums in their heads before they are taught to do
them on paper, calculators are banned.
- standardized teaching manuals
- whole-class instruction, teaching whole class, then posing
questions to each pupil to check comprehension. Americans let
children work in groups.
-
Why America Has the World's Dimmest
Bright Kids 2/26/98 By CHESTER E. FINN JR. [US 12 graders rate
low on TIMSS in science]
TIMSS as justification for new-new
math
\clip\97\28\97198.pdf
US Dept of Ed 8th grade report "Pursuing Excellence" U.S. eighth
graders score below average in mathematics achievement and above
average in science achievement, compared to the 41 nations in the
TIMSS assessment.
In mathematics, our eighth-grade students' international
standing is stronger in Algebra and Fractions than in Geometry and
Measurement.
The content taught in U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classrooms is at
a seventh-grade level in comparison to other countries.
The content of U.S. mathematics classes requires less high-level
thought than classes in Germany and Japan.
U.S. mathematics teachers' typical goal is to teach students
how to do something, while Japanese teachers' goal is to help them
understand mathematical concepts.
Japanese teachers widely practice what the U.S. mathematics
reform recommends, while U.S. teachers do so less frequently.
Eighth-grade students of different abilities are typically divided
into different classrooms in the U.S., and different schools in
Germany. In Japan, no ability grouping is practiced.
In the U.S. students in higher-level mathematics classes study
different material than students in lower-level classes. In Germany
and Japan, all students study the same material, although in Germany,
lower-level classes study it less deeply and rigorously.
The content of U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classes is not as
challenging as that of other countries, and topic coverage is not as
focused.
As noted earlier, the U.S. eighth-grade mathematics curriculum
focuses more on arithmetic, while the German and Japanese curricula
focus more on geometry and algebra. Furthermore, U.S. eighth graders
are studying topics usually learned at the seventh grade in most
other TIMSS countries.
=========================================
National rankings and average scores of eighth-grade students in math
and science according to the Third International Mathematics and
Science Study, a private research study. There is a 10 point margin
of error.
Comment - America actually compares favorably with other nations with
Caucasians, especially considering that 25% of the population is of
under-performing African and Latino descent. The top nations are all
East Asian. This study does not break down Americans by race, if they
did, Asian Americans would likely score as high as Asians in their
home countries, and Whites would rank near the top of the European
nations.
8TH GRADE WORLD RANKING
Mathematics:
Singapore, 643
Korea, 607
Japan, 605
Hong Kong, 588
------ E Asia 588-643 ----
Belgium (Flemish), 565
Czech Republic, 564
Slovak Republic, 547
Switzerland, 545
Netherlands, 541
Slovenia, 541.
Bulgaria, 540.
Austria, 539.
France, 538.
Hungary, 537.
Russian Federation,535.
Australia, 530.
Ireland, 527.
Canada, 527.
Belgium (French), 526.
Thailand, 522.
Israel, 522.
Sweden, 519.
Germany, 509.
New Zealand, 508.
England, 506.
Norway, 503.
Denmark, 502.
United States, 500.
------ US near other Europeans 500-560 ----
Scotland, 498.
Latvia, 493.
Spain, 487.
Iceland, 487.
Greece, 484.
Romania, 482.
Lithuania, 477.
Cyprus, 474.
Portugal, 454.
Iran, 428.
Kuwait, 392.
Colombia, 385.
South Africa, 354.
Science:
Singapore, 607.
Czech Republic, 574.
Japan, 571.
Korea, 565.
Bulgaria, 565.
Netherlands, 560.
Slovenia, 560.
Austria, 558.
Hungary, 554.
England, 552.
Belgium (Flemish), 550.
Australia, 545.
Slovak Republic, 544.
Russian Federation, 538.
Ireland, 538.
Sweden, 535.
United States, 534.
Germany, 531.
Canada, 531.
Norway, 527.
New Zealand, 525.
Thailand, 525.
Israel, 524.
Hong Kong, 522.
Switzerland, 522.
Scotland, 517.
Spain, 517.
France, 498.
Greece, 497.
Iceland, 494.
Romania, 486.
Latvia, 485.
Portugal, 480.
Denmark, 478.
Lithuania, 476.
Belgium (French), 471.
Iran, 470.
Cyprus, 463.
Kuwait, 430.
Colombia, 411.
South Africa, 326.
TABLE SHOWS US 4TH GRADERS LAG WHEN IT'S STILL IN TOP 20%
US 4th graders lag behind other nations in Math, Science (but chart
does not show US was in top 20%)
Math Science ’93 spending
Country score score per student*
Korea 611 597 $1,715
Japan 597 574 $3,960
Czech
Republic 567 557 $1,506
Ireland 550 539 $1,882
United States 545 565 $5,492
New Zealand 499 531 $2,659
Iceland 474 505 $2,645
* U.S dollars
Sources: OECD, Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (1997)
"Czech students excel at math, science" Seattle Times Feb 15, 1998 p.
A17. Czech students rank with best Asian nations. Students enter 1st
grade able to count to 5, sit in rows with flashcards, drills,
workbook problems. US 7th and 8th graders way down the list, 4th
graders were 4th in science but falling far behind in math. No pain,
no gain vs. "math is fun" frequent testing, unforgiving grading,
memorization of formulas and equations, teacher has the last word.
Student enjoyed school in the US more.
From table by MSNBC
"An exodus from the public schools?" MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/124752.asp#BODY 11/25/97
\clip\97\16\timss4\timss4.htm Education Week Jun 18, 1997 ranking:
Science 1- Korea 2 Japan 3 US/Australia Math 1- Singapore 2 Korea 3
Japan 4 Hong Kong .... 11 - Australia 12- US
US 4TH GRADERS TOP 8% 2/26 IN SCIENCE, TOP 20% 5/26 IN MATH
\CLIP\97\15\MATHSTAN.TXT 4th-Graders Excel In Science, Math By SONYA
ROSS Associated Press Writer Tuesday, June 10, 1997 6:14 pm EDT "the
Third International Mathematics and Science Study showed American
fourth-graders second among 26 countries in science, outpaced only by
South Korea. In math, U.S. students came in behind five other
countries: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and the Czech
Republic."
\clip\96\09\timss.txt AP 20-Nov-1996 7:58 EST REF5345 American Kids
Bad In Math By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer
Third International Math and Science Study
http://www.apnet.com/inscight/06101997/graphb.htm Academic Press
Inscight (Science Magazine) Posted 10 June 1997, 5 pm PST U.S. Kids
Start Strong in Science, Then Fade Washington, D.C.--Elementary
school students in the United States are world-class achievers in
science.
http://www.hep.net/documents/newsletters/aipfyi/1997/aipfyi- 084.html
US 4TH GRADERS ABOVE AVERAGE IN MATH AND SCIENCE
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 84: July 3, 1997 U.S. 4th-Graders Make Good Showing in Math
and Science The latest findings from the most recent international
comparison of grade-school math and science achievement reveals some
more optimistic results for the U.S. than earlier data. The first
report based on the "Third International Mathematical and Science
Study" (TIMSS), released in November, focused on eighth-graders (see
FYI #159, 1996.) It showed that U.S. eighth-graders ranked slightly
below the international average in math, and slightly above in
science. The more recent report, put out on June 10, targets
fourth-graders, with a more positive result: "U.S. fourth-graders
perform above the international average of the 26 TIMSS countries in
both mathematics and science."
10/1/97 Education Week http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-17/05timss.h17
Ill. Scores at Odds With Perceptions of Capabilities By Kathleen
Kennedy Manzo Illinois teachers and students feel confident about
their knowledge of science and math, but that confidence is at odds
with the state's lackluster performance in an international
comparison. The sample of 2,000 Illinois students scored on a par
with American students in general, but significantly lower than peers
in 25 other countries in math and 16 other countries in science.
------------------------------
http://www.thonline.com/th/news/1996/th1121/stories/35200.htm
November 21, 1996
U.S. students aren't at the top of the class
Associated Press . Average: American teens score low in math, but
better in science WASHINGTON (AP) - American eighth graders ranked
28th in math tests given to students in 41 nations, far behind Asian
countries at the top of the list. The U.S. students made it into the
top half in science, ranking 17th.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has a videotape study
that shows Japanese teachers already were doing a better job
implementing the kind of reforms the council advocates. In the
United States and Germany, students are taught procedures for solving
practice math problems, said Jim Stigler, who directed the classroom
videotape study. In Japan, the goal is conceptual understanding, he
said.
TIMSS FINDS US AVERAGE IN MATH
\clip\97\01\timss.txt Education Week Volume 16, Issue 13, November
27, 1996 Copyright 1996, Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. U.S.
Students About Average In Global Study By Millicent Lawton
\clip\96\09\timss.txt AP 20-Nov-1996 7:58 EST REF5345 American Kids
Bad In Math By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer
Third International Math and Science Study
@@Girls
AMERICAN GIRLS DO POORLY ON TIMSS MATH SCIENCE z42\doc\web\2000\05\girltims.txt
Summary of TIMSS The TIMSS (Third International Math & Science Study)
provided an unprecedented opportunity for debate and analysis of the
US education system. It demonstrated that the "gender gap" (the
difference between boys' and girls' test scores) is constant across
the world and is not the result of some systemic discrimination
against girls and in favor of boys in the US, as claimed by
feminists. It demonstrates that American 12th grade girls had been
taught math and physics principles, but that zero percent of them
were able to apply those principles to problem solving.
@@Math
Prof Wm Schmidt PHD of TIMSS
study says TIMSS proves we have to reform math, but it's really a
thinly disguised sales pitch for OBE/standards-based education reform
and fuzzy math.
@@Private Schools
Council for American Private Education
Test Results Show Private Education Raises Test Scores
The Counsel for American Private Education reported that American
private schools scored significantly above the national average on
tests that measured math and science performance in 38 countries
around the world. If private school scores had been included in the
rating for the U.S. ranking among other countries, the U.S. would
have gone from being ranked 19th in math to 12th and from 18th in
science to 6th.
@@Race
If Americans were broken out separately by race, the Asians would
rank the highest, Whites fairly high up, and underperforming
minorities would rank with the worst nations.
US WHITE EIGHTH GRADERS WOULD BE 6TH IN SCIENCE, 13TH MATH
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 10:41:03 -0500
From: "Ken Hirsch"
see TIMSS - Trends in International Math and Science Study. See
http://nces.ed.gov/timss/results.asp
Eighth-graders in the U.S. scored 515 on the science portion of the 1999
TIMSS test, in 18th place. But white students in America scored 547, which
would put them in sixth place, behind only Taiwan, Singapore, Hungary,
Japan, and Korea. That is higher than all Western European countries.
In math, the U.S. scored 502, which is 19th place. White students scored
525, which would tie them with Australia for 13th place.
Ethnic data from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001028
For a criticism of TIMSS as a method of comparison, see
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbra9809.htm
TIMSS FAILINGS CONCENTRATED AMONG MINORITIES, WHITES WOULD BE IN TOP 3
z47\clip\2001\01\timsbad.txt ---------------------------------------
The Washington Post Our Schools vs. Theirs: Averages That Hide The
True Extremes By David C. Berliner Sunday, January 28, 2001 ; Page
B03 Statistically, these public school students are on a par with the
top scorers internationally in mathematics and science. Improving
public schools where students are doing this well would be difficult.
In science, for the items common to both the TIMSS and the TIMSS-R,
the scores of white students in the United States were exceeded by
only three other nations. But black American school children were
beaten by every single nation, and Hispanic kids were beaten by all
but two nations. A similar pattern was true of mathematics scores.
@@Shanghai
\clip\2011\01\Chinese students' high scores
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/13/world/la-fg-china-education-20110113
Chinese students' high scores in international tests come at a cost
Teens are under great pressure to do well on exams, with no time for
friends or sports.
"They do very well in those subjects the teacher assigns them. They
have huge vocabularies and they do math well. However, the level of
their creativity and imagination is low.
they enjoy the very best China's uneven schools can offer. Their
experience has little in common with those of their peers in rural
schools, or the makeshift migrant schools of the big cities, not to
mention the armies of teenagers who abandon secondary school in favor
of the factory floor.
they told their teachers that the questions had been simple. "We are
fully aware of the situation: Their creativity is lacking. They suffer
very poor health, they are not strong and they get injured easily,"
vice principal Chen Ting said
Parents who obeyed China's one-child policy whisper to their lone
offspring that the family's destiny hangs on the test score
@@Valid
z68\doc\web\2003\07\timss.txt
Harlow, A., & Jones, A. Why students answer TIMSS science test items
the way they do.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore how year 8 students
answered Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
questions and whether the test questions represented the scientific
understanding of these students.
"only 13% of the written test items actually elicited the
knowledge held by the students in the middle school interview sample.
For 58% of the items in the test, students had more knowledge than
they wrote in their written responses, and for 29% of the items,
students who had the 'correct' written response did not have a
complete understanding of the concept being assessed." (p. 10)