U.S. kids barely up in math, science; Singapore tops list

WASHINGTON -- U.S. students have strides to make when it comes to math and science, where they lag behind a solid number of East Asian countries, according to results released Tuesday from an international exam.

Eighth-graders in the United States improved their scores in math over the past four years, up nine points. Scores for science, however, were flat. In fourth grade, scores were unchanged in the math and science tests.

"The results do suggest a leveling out in the most recent cycle," said Ina Mullis, an executive director of the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College, where researchers helped coordinate staff to administer the assessments. "One always prefers to see improvement, but holding one's own is preferable to declining."

Singapore topped the rankings, taking first place in both grades for math and science on the tests, known as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. The tests are administered every four years to a random sampling of students in dozens of countries.

Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan also dominated the lists for each grade in both subjects.

The United States placed 10th in fourth-grade science as well as in eighth-grade math, scoring an average of 539 out of 1,000 possible points, down two points from the average in 2011.

In eighth-grade science, the U.S. tied with Ireland in 10th place. It ranked 14th for fourth-grade math, just behind Portugal and Kazakhstan.

While the short-term trend for U.S. students overall wasn't glowing, scores over the past 20 years have improved considerably. Math and science scores for eighth-graders had sharp gains, as did scores for fourth-grade math. Science scores for fourth graders showed no statistical change over the last two decades.

Matt Larson, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said the results show there's work to be done, but that he's encouraged overall by the growth since the mid-90s. "This may reflect an increased focus on mathematics in the early grades and could be a longer-term effect of standards reform and the implementation of research-informed instructional practices in more schools."

He continued: "Certainly we have much more work to do and achievement is not as high as we would like to have it. But the trajectory is positive, and it may indicate that some of the efforts we've made over the past 2½ decades are making a difference."

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the steady progress by U.S. students "affirms that when there is an alignment between teachers and students, instruction and standards, and resources -- giving teachers the flexibility to teach what students need to know and do -- we see success."

Globally, results from the 2015 exams showed achievement trends were up -- with more countries registering increases than decreases in math and science for both grades. Gender gaps were another highlight. They have narrowed over the past 20 years, especially in science at the eighth-grade level.

"A lot of countries have been working hard to close that achievement gap, and have promoted girls' interest and participation in science," said Michael Martin, who runs the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center with Mullis.

David Evans, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, said the slow progress is cause for some concern but is not surprising given that Americans so often treat science and math as inscrutable fields of study that aren't essential to becoming educated in the same way that reading and writing are.

Evans said that he is now hopeful that new science standards that have been adopted by a growing number of states -- and that push students to solve problems and learn about science by doing science -- will make a difference, prompting bigger gains in the coming years.

"I think we're right now at the very beginning of what could be a very significant change in the way we teach science," Evans said.

About 600,000 students around the world took part in the 2015 exams. The tests are sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement in Amsterdam.

Information for this article was contributed by Jennifer C. Kerr of The Associated Press and by Emma Brown of The Washington Post.

A Section on 11/30/2016

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