Singapore students top in science, beaten in math

Boston College’s Trends International Mathematics and Science Study found that Singapore’s fourth and eighth graders were tops in the world in science, while Hong Kong fourth graders and Taiwanese eighth graders led in math.

The fourth graders studied were on average 10 years old, with eighth graders averaging 14.

The study of 425,000 students in 37 countries benchmarks performance against students in the United States, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. It has been conducted four times since 1995.

The United States ranked about 10th place across all four categories, trailing Russia. Japan ranked in the top five in all four categories. Fourth graders in Yemen ranked at the bottom in both science and math, while eighth-graders in Morocco were last in science and math.

The last time the study was conducted, Singapore swept all four categories. This time, its fourth-graders ranked second in math, behind Hong Kong, with eighth-graders coming in third, trailing Taiwan and South Korea.

The study found that in general Asian countries had the highest percentage of students meeting international standards in both subjects. Students who spoke the same language at home and in school tended to do better, as did those with access to computers and books at home.

“Individual well-being, economic prosperity and social cohesion all depend on high-quality education that is available to every child and young person,” Seamus Hegarty, chairman of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, said in a statement.

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