Best Math and Science Students
We’ve posted the reason why Asians are considered the master race when it comes to math and science. That stereotype is now undisputed as statistics say that this race has the best students not only in maths, but also in science.
This, after 10- and 14-year-olds were asked to take a set of math and science tests called the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in a recent research report, which is given every four years. Students from sixty countries were evaluated.
In math, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan dominated both age groups, being in the top five. The scores were 618, 615, 608, 597, and 593 respectively.
Notably, the US students have disappointed in the 10-year-old and 14-year-old math categories, falling from 11th to 14th place for the former and 9th to 10th place for the latter.
Meanwhile, the science scores still showed the prevalence of Asians, with Singapore still leading the pack in both ages.
The country secured a 590 score for the 10-year-old category, followed by Korea with 589, Japan with 569, Russian Federation with 567, and Hong Kong with 557. Chinese Taipei follows with a 555 score.
For the 14-year-olds, TIMSS science scores tallied Singapore with 597, Japan 571, Chinese Taipei 569, Korea 556, and Slovenia 551.
The Singapore performance comes as a shock since it has a lower average of math instruction a year, only at 129 hours as compared to the 155 hours in the U.S.
Moreover, Korea is even more shocking: the 14-year-old only spend 114 hours a year for math and yet they are on the top.
In most countries, the results showed an improvement both in the scores for both subjects and in reducing the gender gap.
However, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Kuwait, and the Netherlands slipped in their rankings from 2011.
About 600,000 students have taken the recent research assessment, given every four years since 1995.
The test is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Amsterdam, and conducted at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
Mathematics Wizards
Source: Quartz
