China’s Schoolchildren Are Now the Smartest in the World

[beijingwalker]

China Shines in Education as Richest Economies Fail to Improve
China’s Schoolchildren Are Now the Smartest in the World
By William Horobin

MON, DEC 2 20196:11 AM EST

Chinese students far out-stripped peers in every other country in a survey of reading, math and science ability, underscoring a reserve of future economic strength and the struggle of advanced economies to keep up.

The OECD’s triennial study of 15 year-old students across the world found that the four Chinese provinces tested -- Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang -- outperformed in science and mathematics, even if household income is well below members’ average. In reading, the 10% most disadvantaged Chinese students tested had better skills than the OECD average.

“The quality of their schools today will feed into the strength of their economies tomorrow,” OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said.

A League of Their Own
China and Singapore scored significantly higher in reading than all others

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

The PISA study of 600,000 students in 79 countries shines a light on the difficultly of improving education, sometimes irrespective of the resources that are dedicated to it. That appears to be particularly problematic for OECD countries that have increased spending on primary and secondary students by more than 15% in the past decade.

“It is disappointing that most OECD countries saw virtually no improvement in the performance of their students since PISA was first conducted in 2000,” Gurria said.

The report also highlights disparities in educational achievement depending on socio-economic background. In some countries, even where government spending on education is high, the background of a student still plays a significant role in their educational outcomes.

Overcoming Obstacles
Socio-economic background plays a greater role in reading achievement in some countries

On average, 12% of the variation in student reading performance within each country was associated with socio-economic status. In several European countries, including France and Germany, that measure rises above 17%.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ducation-as-richest-economies-fail-to-improve

 

[God Parshuram]

Afterall, Chinese are basically the smartest people on the planet. There brilliance is visible all around wherever they go.

 

[beijingwalker]

The west may claim that we Chinese put our kids in "concentration camps" and force them to study and learn.

 

[Uguduwa]

Afterall, Chinese are basically the smartest people on the planet. There brilliance is visible all around wherever they go.

lol like my ex roommate who pretty much destroyed the entire house on his own.

 

[God Parshuram]

lol like my ex roommate who pretty much destroyed the entire house on his own.

It is a smart act of a Smart Chinese.

Chinese are very smart. You can see the examples here on PDF.

 

[twocents]

It is a smart act of a Smart Chinese.

Chinese are very smart. You can see the examples here on PDF.

Interesting attempt at sarcasm. Have you noticed that India is one of those countries that does not appear on the map? Curious as to why? Here's the story. India did participate in Pisa test once some years ago. Of the dozens of partcipating countries India came out one spot above dead last. Indian government had a quick and easy solution to the problem---banning all future Pisa tests in India.

 

[beijingwalker]

Pisa rankings: Good performance – but can anyone compete with China?
Irish teens are among world’s best readers, but could do better in maths and science
about 3 hours ago
Carl O'Brien

Fifteen-year-olds in Ireland are among the best in the world at reading and are significantly above average for maths and science, according to the latest Pisa results. Photograph: iStock

The release of the OECD’s Pisa rankings every three years is a revealing moment for twitchy politicians and policy-makers.

It’s a two-hour test undertaken by 600,000 students worldwide which is designed to measure a person’s ability to think.

It does not measure what students have memorised. Instead, it asks them to solve problems they haven’t seen before, to identify patterns that are not obvious and to make compelling written arguments.

In Ireland’s case, there is sharp relief today: the results show our 15-year-olds are among the best in the world at reading and significantly above average for maths and science.

In reading literacy, we rank inside the top 10 (8th out of 77 participating jurisdictions).

Teenagers in Ireland also rank above average for maths (21st) and science (22nd) compared to other developed countries.

Striking
One striking aspect of the Irish performance is the small proportion of low-achieving pupils compared to other countries.

This, say analysts, is likely to be result of a big focus on tackling literacy and numeracy, as well as investment in disadvantaged schools.

(Much of this, incidentally, was sparked by alarm bells following Pisa rankings in 2009, which showed a sharp decline in the performance of Irish teenagers.)

The variation in performance between schools in Ireland is also lower than many other countries.

This is a sign that Irish secondary schools are relatively equitable compared to other developed countries.

So far, so good.

But there are some worrying signs.

The Pisa findings show Ireland has below-average numbers of high-achieving students in science and maths, for example.

This slow and incremental decline has been notable since 2012 and suggests that our strongest students are not being “stretched” enough.

It also appears to reinforce a trend where students in Ireland often struggle with “higher order” skills.

Minister for Education Joe McHugh has suggested that the introduction of the Junior Cycle – with its emphasis on the application of skills and critical thinking – will help with this.

Many teachers who are sceptical of Junior Cycle reforms which, they say, are “dumbing down” the system, may baulk at this. Time will tell if he is right.

All in all, it is a steady performance by 15-year-olds in Ireland.

Rise of China
If the Irish performance is encouraging, it is eclipsed by the inclusion this year of students in a number of Chinese provinces.

The extent to which these provinces are outperforming the rest of the world is breath-taking.

Pisa figures show 15-year-olds in the four provinces of China that participated in the study – Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang – outperformed by a large margin their peers from all of the other 78 participating education systems in maths and science.

In fact, the most disadvantaged 10 per cent of students in these four jurisdictions show better reading skills than those of the average student in OECD countries.

Not only that, but these same disadvantaged students show skills similar to the 10 per cent of most advantaged students in some OECD countries.

Analysts point out that these four provinces in eastern China are far from representing China as a whole,

However, it is worth noting that the size of each of them compares to that of a typical OECD country, and their combined populations amount to over 180 million.

As the authors of the Pisa study note, what makes their achievement even more remarkable is that the level of income of these four Chinese regions is well below the OECD average.

The quality of their schools today will influence the strength of their economies tomorrow.

Technology
Back in Ireland, there is much to ponder on how to try to catch up with Chinese provinces and other high-performing jurisdictions.

In addition to curriculum changes which may help stretch our top students, there is another key area that remains to be properly developed: technology.

Despite notions that Ireland is the Silicon Valley of Europe, Pisa results show students in Ireland are less likely than pupils in other developed countries to use digital devices for classwork in school or at home.

Principals’ views on the capacity of their schools to enhance teaching and learning through technology are also less favourable than in other developed countries.

Many feel that while they have access to devices and broadband, they feel they lack sufficient access to technical support or assistance.

Interestingly, the Pisa tests are completed on computer – and less than half of Irish students reported that they had ever completed a test on a device before.

By contrast, the top-performing country in Europe – Estonia – has ploughed massive resources into harnessing the power of digital technology and developing an e-curriculum.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/edu...e-but-can-anyone-compete-with-china-1.4102955

 

[powastick]

 

[CHN Bamboo]

Almost all countries with poor performance are developing countries.

To some extent, the result of PISA reflects the gap between developing and developed countries.

 

[beijingwalker]

China is a developing country too.

 

[nang2]

Don't read much into it. How smart children are doesn't really matter until they become adults when they will be truly tested.

 

[Mista]

Singapore's 15-year-olds rank second globally in reading, maths and science: Study

SINGAPORE: Fifteen-year-old students in Singapore ranked second globally in reading, mathematics and science, after China, according to a 2018 international benchmarking study co-ordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

They were also "well equipped with critical skills" and resilient - qualities that would "serve them well" in a rapidly changing world, findings from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed.

These students were were able to integrate content, reason and make inferences, as well as identify evidence to support their claims, thus communicating them effectively, according to PISA.

Commenting on the findings, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a media release that Singapore’s 15-year-olds “have demonstrated competencies that would enable them to navigate the challenges of the future”.

The study, whose findings were released on Tuesday (Dec 3), is conducted once every three years and measures how well 15-year-olds around the world make use of their knowledge to solve problems.

In Singapore, 6,300 students from all 153 public secondary schools and 376 students from 13 randomly selected private schools took part in the assessment.

They placed second in reading, mathematics and science, among 79 education systems. China, represented by four provinces - Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang – topped the table.

Singapore took first place in all three categories in 2015. China was represented by Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong that year, and placed 27th in reading, 6th in mathematics and 10th in science then.

China was represented by students from Shanghai in the 2009 and 2012 cycles, and topped all three categories in both years. In 2012, Singapore came third for reading and science, and second for mathematics.

Singapore participated in PISA for the first time in 2009, and came in fifth for reading, second for mathematics and fourth for science.

Responding to questions about Singapore's drop in the latest rankings, Mr Sng Chern Wei, deputy director-general of education (curriculum) at MOE said the ministry was "happy" that China is doing well.

“We didn’t take part in Pisa to try and beat every country. We try to take part in Pisa to learn important areas for improvement for ourselves and when other countries do well, we will continue to learn from them and try to make the educational experience and learning journey a more positive one and more effective one for our students,” he said.

Each cycle of the test focuses on one particular category, with reading as the focus this year.

Singapore’s mean performance for reading saw a “marked improvement” in 2018. At the same time, the students maintained a strong performance in mathematics and science.

Singapore also has one of the highest proportions of top performers achieving the top two proficiency levels in the three subjects. These top performers are able to “apply well-developed thinking and reasoning skills to complex problems”, said MOE.

The strong performance can be attributed to well-resourced schools, supportive teachers and students being well-supported at home, the ministry added.

STUDENTS FROM LOWER-INCOME HOMES PERFORMED BETTER THAN OECD AVERAGE

Students from homes in the bottom quarter socio-economic status not only outperformed students in the equivalent band across the OECD, but also performed better than the average for all three subjects.

Students from homes in the bottom quarter socio-economic status performed better than the OECD average for all three subjects. (Graphic: MOE)

The study revealed that socioeconomically advantaged students in Singapore outperformed disadvantaged students in reading by 104 points in PISA 2018. This is larger than the average difference of 89 points between the two groups across OECD countries.

In addition, about 10 per cent of disadvantaged students here scored in the top quarter of reading performance in Singapore, “indicating that disadvantage is not destiny”, said the report.

“MOE will continue to direct more resources to schools with greater needs, including schools with more low-progress learners or financially needy students, to ensure that access to education is not a barrier to students’ learning,” said the ministry.

SCORES UP BUT INTEREST IN READING DOWN

Compared to 2015, Singapore students showed improved reading scores, according to PISA.

Fewer students enjoyed reading, despite a "marked improvement" in reading scores. (Graphic: MOE)

An increase in the proportion of 15-year-old students from English-speaking homes from 49 per cent in 2015 to 57 per cent in 2018 contributed to the improved reading scores, said MOE.

“Our education system provides a strong literacy foundation in primary schools. The secondary English Language curriculum builds on that foundation and emphasises the development of critical reading skills and ability to respond to a diverse range of multimodal and dynamic texts,” the ministry explained.

Despite the improved reading scores, Singapore students enjoyed reading less compared to 2009. The students were asked questions on their attitudes towards reading, which includes both online reading and books.

MOE said the decline in enjoyment of reading could be due to students spending more time on other activities such as surfing the Internet or using social media platforms.

FEAR OF FAILURE

In the 2018 assessment, Singapore students also expressed a greater fear of failure.

About 72 per cent of 15-year-olds here said they worry about what others think of them when they are failing, above the OECD average of 56 per cent.

Singapore students expressed a greater fear of failure, and were worried about what others might think of them if they failed. (Graphic: MOE)

In almost every education system including Singapore, girls expressed greater fear of failure than boys and this gender gap was “considerably wider” among top-performing students, said the report.

The education ministry noted that most of the 15-year-olds who participated in PISA 2018 were in Secondary 4 and would have sat for their O- and N-Levels last year.

Their fears “could stem from the desire to do well in national examinations”, said MOE.

With the new PSLE scoring system from 2021, MOE hopes to “encourage students to move away from an overemphasis on academic results”. The roll-out of full subject-based banding and the removal of academic streams in secondary schools by 2024 will also encourage students to “adopt a growth mindset and take greater ownership of their learning”.

“I think we can help more students to view such setbacks as a natural part of learning and growing, and to view them constructively and use them as opportunities for learning and growth,” said Mr Sng.

“I think this will allow more of them to try new things and be confident of learning from experiences.”

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ank-second-globally-in-reading-maths-12147856

 

[Paul2]

I think West's flaw is too much distraction and "enrichment," second to them believing it doing anything good.

When I lived in Canada, I was first startled at sight of how they teach their children. It was first "wtf are they doing there?" Their primary schools are almost like kindergardens, and secondaries... children spent like half of the time doing brainless talkshops.

I believe China makes a serious error of judgement in copying Western style education.

 

[Mista]

An increase in the proportion of 15-year-old students from English-speaking homes from 49 per cent in 2015 to 57 per cent in 2018 contributed to the improved reading scores, said MOE.

Ehhh... That would imply that the standard of their 'mother tongue' would have decline as more kids speak English at home in Singapore nowadays, but the decline can't be captured by PISA tests.

Not sure it's exactly a good thing for us. Maintaining fluency in our mother tongues has is one of Singapore's toughest education challenge for decades, and Bilingualism has always been a cornerstone for Singapore's education since independence.

 

[Paul2]

Ehhh... That would imply that the standard of their 'mother tongue' would have decline as more kids speak English at home in Singapore nowadays, but the decline can't be captured by PISA tests.

Not sure it's exactly a good thing for us. Maintaining fluency in our mother tongues has is one of Singapore's toughest education challenge for decades, and Bilingualism has always been a cornerstone for Singapore's education since independence.

Take a look at Pakistan. From my impression of the country, Pakistani elites are more British in the brain than most of Britain's own citizens. What came out of that? I fear wrath of Pakistani members, but I'd say that Gen. Zia and Musharraf were products of their system... Not simply British educated, but elite British educated.

Take a look at LKY, his desire to be "like British" did not make him one. He sought acknowledgement from British and got a proverbial middle finger in return. He liked Britain to his own detriment.

I think he eventually realised that in his later life. In his early efforts to turn Singapore more British, he only managed to turn his government like so, while the nation went its own way for a decade or so. It took him 2 decades in power to finally do a U-turn on that.

Our own English mongers should stop and think too.

Ministry of education, please, throw English out from GK. Either make English taught better across the country, and do objective exams, or don't do it at all. Grammar errors in an exam made by "PhD level" English majors is a joke.

I scored 68% on English with me constantly moving in between English and Chinese speaking countries, and having conversational English by, I think, my 10 yet somehow they had temerity to poke holes in my essay for its lack of "Englishness"