Zürcher Nachrichten - Asian countries score high in key education survey

EUR -
AED 3.832684
AFN 72.959602
ALL 98.462959
AMD 410.45402
ANG 1.873047
AOA 957.921829
ARS 1062.031565
AUD 1.668562
AWG 1.878277
AZN 1.784801
BAM 1.956057
BBD 2.098476
BDT 124.196346
BGN 1.95543
BHD 0.392152
BIF 3072.704402
BMD 1.043487
BND 1.411486
BOB 7.181945
BRL 6.350643
BSD 1.039337
BTN 88.357629
BWP 14.364891
BYN 3.401248
BYR 20452.35176
BZD 2.089175
CAD 1.498735
CDF 2994.808319
CHF 0.931781
CLF 0.03736
CLP 1030.865674
CNY 7.613704
CNH 7.60587
COP 4549.298739
CRC 524.369013
CUC 1.043487
CUP 27.652414
CVE 110.279514
CZK 25.108428
DJF 185.074358
DKK 7.458116
DOP 63.288329
DZD 140.667513
EGP 53.089373
ERN 15.65231
ETB 129.556951
FJD 2.417812
FKP 0.826423
GBP 0.829839
GEL 2.932642
GGP 0.826423
GHS 15.278011
GIP 0.826423
GMD 75.13081
GNF 8979.181761
GTQ 8.008054
GYD 217.438617
HKD 8.11073
HNL 26.382472
HRK 7.484837
HTG 135.967895
HUF 414.03543
IDR 16874.546735
ILS 3.801242
IMP 0.826423
INR 88.646863
IQD 1361.479186
IRR 43917.772492
ISK 145.170484
JEP 0.826423
JMD 162.611401
JOD 0.739936
JPY 163.242118
KES 134.177659
KGS 90.783029
KHR 4176.549681
KMF 486.395546
KPW 939.138018
KRW 1509.320727
KWD 0.321342
KYD 0.866114
KZT 545.821836
LAK 22747.993892
LBP 93069.24896
LKR 305.14016
LRD 188.634826
LSL 19.134218
LTL 3.081147
LVL 0.631195
LYD 5.106672
MAD 10.460077
MDL 19.14352
MGA 4903.645375
MKD 61.5431
MMK 3389.206159
MNT 3545.769827
MOP 8.320295
MRU 41.33344
MUR 49.25222
MVR 16.052761
MWK 1802.137182
MXN 20.931771
MYR 4.704048
MZN 66.682732
NAD 19.134218
NGN 1616.92545
NIO 38.245033
NOK 11.810924
NPR 141.372606
NZD 1.846749
OMR 0.401533
PAB 1.039337
PEN 3.870109
PGK 4.214555
PHP 61.430102
PKR 289.288974
PLN 4.258903
PYG 8104.066586
QAR 3.788799
RON 4.979106
RSD 117.045935
RUB 107.244587
RWF 1448.790677
SAR 3.91966
SBD 8.748133
SCR 14.551486
SDG 627.662417
SEK 11.505215
SGD 1.414024
SHP 0.826423
SLE 23.787187
SLL 21881.410825
SOS 593.978174
SRD 36.65877
STD 21598.081035
SVC 9.094197
SYP 2621.793487
SZL 19.129518
THB 35.780887
TJS 11.369896
TMT 3.662641
TND 3.311736
TOP 2.44395
TRY 36.710281
TTD 7.053928
TWD 34.050018
TZS 2468.324859
UAH 43.588037
UGX 3812.501768
USD 1.043487
UYU 46.356101
UZS 13399.76356
VES 53.713772
VND 26561.970104
VUV 123.884906
WST 2.882934
XAF 656.043343
XAG 0.035154
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.820076
XDR 0.792804
XOF 656.043343
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.263155
ZAR 19.096059
ZMK 9392.640903
ZMW 28.762786
ZWL 336.002496
  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

Asian countries score high in key education survey
Asian countries score high in key education survey / Photo: SIMIN WANG - AFP

Asian countries score high in key education survey

Asian countries dominated the top spots in a keenly watched survey of education capabilities published Tuesday, while levels in Europe slipped at a record pace -- and not just because of Covid.

Text size:

However, the report also showed that students in top performing countries were not necessarily happier.

The PISA survey is carried out every three years by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to assess the ability of 15-year-olds to meet real-life challenges.

"The Pisa 2022 results show a fall in student performance that is unprecedented in Pisa's history," OECD education analyst Irene Hu told reporters.

Singapore took top ranking in the latest assessment, which was carried out in 2022 and involved 690,000 students in 81 participating countries and economies.

The south-east Asian island city state scored highest in all three of the survey's areas: mathematics, reading and science.

"These results suggest that, on average, Singaporean students are the equivalent of almost three to five years of schooling ahead of their peers," the report said.

Five other Asian education systems -- in Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea -- came next in mathematics, and also scored near the top in reading and science.

But while Asia did well, other parts of the world declined, sparking an overall "unprecedented drop in performance", the report said.

Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland, for example, all saw notably lower achievements in mathematics, it said.

- 'Not just about Covid' -

Covid-19 shutdowns hurt education standards, the report said, but there were also other factors behind the downturn.

Students in Finland, Iceland and Sweden -- once star performers -- have been scoring lower marks for years.

"This indicates that long-term issues in education systems are also to blame for the drop in performance," it said. "It is not just about Covid."

A key factor is "the level of support pupils received from teachers and school staff", the OECD's Hu said.

Some education systems have not given sufficient resources for supporting students, said Eric Charbonnier, another OECD education analyst.

"Countries have invested in education over the past 10 years, but maybe they didn't invest efficiently, or sufficiently into the quality of teaching," he said.

"We also see less parental involvement with the progress of children compared to 2018," he added.

While there was some correlation between spending and academic performance, "history shows that countries determined to build a first-class education system can achieve this even in adverse economic circumstances", the report said.

"The world is no longer strictly divided between rich and well-educated nations and poor and badly-educated ones", it said.

In some cases, 2022's drop in skills amounted to roughly a year's worth of education.

"For example, in mathematics, in Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, the average 15-year-old in 2022 scored at the level expected of a 14-year-old in 2018," the report said.

The best European performer was Estonia. The EU's two biggest countries, Germany and France, ranked below Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and Britain.

"Germany is more worrying than France," said Charbonnier, adding that Norway and Finland also declined more than France.

The US education system showed little change from the last survey, with students there weaker in mathematics, and slightly above average in reading and science.

- 'Fear of failure' -

For the first time, the OECD also examined the happiness of students, using nine aspects of their lives to measure their well-being.

They include engagement with school, material and cultural well-being, openness to diversity and psychological well-being.

This showed that in top maths performers Singapore, Macao and Taiwan, "many students reported a high fear of failure and limited engagement in extracurricular activities such as sports".

In contrast, with students in countries with lower average PISA test scores, such as Spain and Peru, researchers often found "lower levels of anxiety and a greater focus on sports".

I.Widmer--NZN