Offering a glimmer of hope for science education, results from an international test indicate that the United States has led developed countries in narrowing the achievement gap between privileged and disadvantaged students.
Results of the 2015 released Tuesday [Dec. 6] show that one-third of disadvantaged students performed above expectations and above three-quarters of their peers — those with similar socioeconomic status — in other countries. U.S. students lead the world in science aspirations — 38 percent expect to work in a science-related career at age 30.
Those welcome nuggets are buried in less-encouraging U.S. science scores, which remained in the middle of the pack and, like scores in most of the developed world, essentially unchanged from 10 years ago.
Since the last PISA test emphasizing science was administered in 2006, the world has seen the advent of the iPhone, drones, electric cars and virtual reality, noted Andreas Schleicher of the test’s backer, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Yet, he said, “science achievement is flat across the industrial world.”
A scientifically designed pillar of international testing, PISA was administered to a sampling of 15-year-old students in 72 countries last year. The age group is chosen for PISA tests because it represents students near the end of their compulsory education. The idea is to assess whether they have acquired “key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies,” PISA states. Besides measuring knowledge, the tests assess how well students can apply what they’ve learned to unfamiliar settings.
The PISA exams are given about every three years, with an emphasis that rotates among reading, math and science. While the 2015 tests focused on science, other subjects also were tested, but less in depth.
Some countries showed remarkable progress. Singapore went from good to great, Schleicher said. Portugal, which was well below the United States 10 years ago, made steady improvements. PISA found other stars — Japan, Finland, Canada and Hong Kong — that attained not only high achievement but also equity among rich and poor students.
That’s not to discount U.S. progress in narrowing the achievement gap to 38 points, still a sizable difference but less than in Switzerland, Germany and Singapore.
The OECD does not officially explain the reasons behind the changes in test scores. But it does investigate conditions in countries, and Schleicher speculated that the narrowed U.S. gap in science could have sprung from the federal No Child Left Behind law, which focused attention and effort on underperforming schools and students. Congress replaced the law last year.
Among other countries making gains in equity, many focused on teachers, Schleicher said. Vietnam seeks to attract talented teachers to challenging schools, requiring them to demonstrate success in those schools, and having teachers work with parents and communities — chatting online and frequently calling parents.
“‘If I didn’t have those parents on board, I could not do my job,'” he said a teacher in Vietnam told him.
Of the 35 OECD countries tested (non-OECD developing nations like China and Latin American nations also took the test) the United States ranked 19th in science, 20th in reading and 31st in math. While both science and reading remained stable from previous exams, U.S. math scores fell 11 points, a significant drop.
About 540,000 students around the world took the 2015 PISA exams. In addition to the three subject areas, the tests asked students about themselves, their school and learning experiences and their attitudes, and also surveyed school principals.
For a summary of PISA recommendations on improving equity in education, go to www.mercurynews.com/news/education. To read 2015 and other PISA results, go to http://www.oecd.org/pisa.