IP: Education Reports

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 159: November 25, 1996


Reports Evaluate U.S. Progress in Education: Math, Science, & National Goals




The largest and most comprehensive international study of pre-college math and
science education has begun to reveal some results.  On November 20, the
Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics released
"Pursuing Excellence: A Study of U.S. Eighth-Grade Mathematics and Science
Teaching, Learning, Curriculum, and Achievement in International Context." 
This is the first analysis to come out of an intensive 1995 survey of the math
and science education of half a million students in 41 countries and across
several different grade levels.  The survey, the Third International
Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS), was conducted by the International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.  It used a variety
of evaluation methods, incorporated careful quality control, and took into
account variations in participation/methods across nations.  The U.S.
sponsored additional assessments conducted on the U.S., Japanese and German
education systems, which are also covered in this report.


This first report from the survey "summarizes early findings from the
eighth-grade data," primarily in math; further analyses will look more deeply
at the data on science education, and similar reports will provide
international comparisons of fourth- and twelfth-grade levels.  


Based on the analysis of the 41 nations so far, U.S. eighth-graders rank
slightly below the international average in math, and slightly above in
science.  While far from our national goal of placing first in the world in
math and science (Singapore, Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic and Hungary
outperformed the U.S. in both fields), the report finds the U.S. "on a par
with other major industrialized nations like Canada, England, and Germany." 
The U.S. is also one of only 11 countries with no significant eighth-grade
gender gap in either discipline.


In science, the U.S. students performed at an average level in Physics and
Chemistry, while ranking above the average in Environmental Issues and Earth
and Life Sciences.  In math, U.S. eighth-graders performed at about the
international average in Algebra; Data Representation, Analysis, and
Probability; and Fractions and Number Sense.  Their performance was
less-than-average in Geometry; Measurement; and Proportionality.


In looking at eighth-grade curricula, teaching methods, and time spent on math
and science, the report raises some interesting findings: Content in U.S.
eighth-grade math classes is equivalent to seventh-grade content in most other
countries, and is less focused on major topics.  The U.S. students spend more
classroom time on math, and do more homework, than students in either Germany
or Japan; and TV-watching after school is common in all three countries. 
Japanese teachers largely incorporate into their teaching the reforms
recommended by experts for U.S. math classes; U.S. teachers say they are
familiar with the recommendations, but analysis shows they are not
implementing them in class.  Teachers in the U.S., while generally having more
college education than their counterparts in other countries, receive shorter,
less-structured apprenticeships, less daily support from and interaction with
other teachers, and teach more periods of math per week than do teachers in
Japan or Germany.  Class sizes were similar in the U.S. and Germany (an
average of 24-25 students per class), and much larger in Japan (37 students
per class.) While U.S. and German teachers assign more homework per week than
teachers in Japan, Japanese eighth-graders make up the difference by spending
additional time studying on their own.


"Pursuing Excellence" is available by calling the National Center for
Education Statistics at 202-219-1839, or on the World Wide Web at
http://www.ed.gov/NCES/timss


On November 19, another report was released on U.S. pre-college education,
this one by the National Education Goals Panel, a group of eight governors,
four Members of Congress, four state legislators, and two Administration
officials.  This document looks at how close American students are to
achieving the nation's education goals:  that for the year 2000, all American
children enter school ready to learn; the high school graduation rate reach at
least 90 percent; all students passing grades 4, 8, and 12 demonstrate
competency in specific subject areas; teachers have access to, and opportunity
for, professional development; every American adult be literate; every school
be free of drugs, alcohol, and violence; schools promote parental involvement;
and the U.S. be first in the world in math and science achievement.  The panel
estimates that American students and the education system still fall far short
of these goals.  While some progress has been seen in areas such as high
school graduation rates, performance has declined in twelfth-grade reading
proficiency, student drug use, and other areas.


Ordering information for the National Education Goals Panel 1996 Report can be
found on the World Wide Web at http://www.negp.gov


###############
Audrey T. Leath
Public Information Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi () aip org
(301) 209-3094
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