East Asian countries continued their dominance in international test results released Tuesday. The United States scored better than the majority of countries in all subjects, but failed to crack the top 10 in most subjects. Singapore was at or near the top of the pack in all the tests, while Finland slipped slightly from its performance on a different group of assessments given in 2010.
Students in Singapore give out scrapbooks to teachers on their national Teachers’ Day. The country was one of the highest performing in every subject in international assessment results released Tuesday.
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) were given to hundreds of thousands of fourth and eighth graders to assess their math and science content knowledge and literacy skills. Fifty-two countries took part in at least one part of TIMSS, which is given every four years and 49 did so for PIRLS, which is given every five years.
The U.S ranked sixth in reading among fourth graders, a significant gain over 14th in 2006. Math scores were less impressive, with the U.S. only in the top 15 among fourth graders and among the top 24 in eighth grade. The U.S. made the top 10 in fourth-grade science, but was only among the top 23 in eighth grade.
Reprinted with permission from Hechinger Report.
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