useapen
2023-12-07 06:31:36 UTC
PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Teenagers' mathematics and reading skills are in
an unprecedented decline across dozens of countries and COVID school
closures are only partly to be blamed, the OECD said on Tuesday in its
latest survey of global learning standards.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said
it had seen some of the steepest drops in performance since 2000 when it
began its usually triennial tests of 15-year-olds reading, maths and
science skills.
Nearly 700,000 youths took the two-hour test last year in the OECD's 38
mostly developed country members and 44-non members for the latest study,
closely watched by policymakers as the largest international comparison of
education performance.
Compared to when the tests were last conducted in 2018, reading
performance fell by 10 points on average in OECD countries, and by 15
points in mathematics, a loss equivalent to three-quarters of a year's
worth of learning.
Reuters Graphics
While more than half of the 81 countries surveyed saw declines, Germany,
Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland saw particularly sharp drops
in mathematics scores, the OECD said.
On average across the OECD, one out of four 15-year-olds tested as a low
performer in maths, reading and science, which means they could not use
basic algorithms or interpret simple texts, the study found.
"COVID probably played some role but I would not overrate it," OECD
director of education Andreas Schleicher told a news conference.
"There are underlying structural factors and they are much more likely to
be permanent features of our education systems that policymakers should
really take seriously."
Countries that provided extra teacher support during COVID school closures
scored better and results were generally better in places where easy
teacher access for special help was high.
Poorer results tended to be associated with higher rates of mobile phone
use for leisure and where schools reported teacher shortages.
The OECD said the decline was not inevitable, pointing to Singapore, where
students scored the highest in maths, reading and science, with results
that suggested they were on average three to five years ahead of their
OECD peers.
After Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea also
outperformed in maths and science, where Estonia and Canada also scored
well.
In reading, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan earned top marks, and
was all the more notable in Ireland and Japan because their spending per
student was no higher than the OECD average.
https://www.reuters.com/world/mathematics-reading-skills-unprecedented-
decline-teenagers-oecd-survey-2023-12-05/
an unprecedented decline across dozens of countries and COVID school
closures are only partly to be blamed, the OECD said on Tuesday in its
latest survey of global learning standards.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said
it had seen some of the steepest drops in performance since 2000 when it
began its usually triennial tests of 15-year-olds reading, maths and
science skills.
Nearly 700,000 youths took the two-hour test last year in the OECD's 38
mostly developed country members and 44-non members for the latest study,
closely watched by policymakers as the largest international comparison of
education performance.
Compared to when the tests were last conducted in 2018, reading
performance fell by 10 points on average in OECD countries, and by 15
points in mathematics, a loss equivalent to three-quarters of a year's
worth of learning.
Reuters Graphics
While more than half of the 81 countries surveyed saw declines, Germany,
Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland saw particularly sharp drops
in mathematics scores, the OECD said.
On average across the OECD, one out of four 15-year-olds tested as a low
performer in maths, reading and science, which means they could not use
basic algorithms or interpret simple texts, the study found.
"COVID probably played some role but I would not overrate it," OECD
director of education Andreas Schleicher told a news conference.
"There are underlying structural factors and they are much more likely to
be permanent features of our education systems that policymakers should
really take seriously."
Countries that provided extra teacher support during COVID school closures
scored better and results were generally better in places where easy
teacher access for special help was high.
Poorer results tended to be associated with higher rates of mobile phone
use for leisure and where schools reported teacher shortages.
The OECD said the decline was not inevitable, pointing to Singapore, where
students scored the highest in maths, reading and science, with results
that suggested they were on average three to five years ahead of their
OECD peers.
After Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea also
outperformed in maths and science, where Estonia and Canada also scored
well.
In reading, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan earned top marks, and
was all the more notable in Ireland and Japan because their spending per
student was no higher than the OECD average.
https://www.reuters.com/world/mathematics-reading-skills-unprecedented-
decline-teenagers-oecd-survey-2023-12-05/