Making Minds Matter with Bill Costello » Testing

America’s Shanghai Surprise

Bill Costello — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 05:51:48 +0000

American students are lagging significantly behind their peers from several countries in Europe and Asia according to new results from a key international assessment. They are the furthest behind students from the Chinese city of Shanghai, who received the top international test scores in math, science, and reading.

“We have to see this as a wake-up [...]

The Schools Scandal

Bill Costello — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:43:07 +0000

American spending on public education, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled over the last three decades. What did taxpayers get for their money?

The average math and reading scores of American 17-year-olds have not improved since the early 1970s according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Twice the money. Zero progress.

Yet students in other countries have [...]

My Cambodia Trip, Part XVI

Bill Costello — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:52:55 +0000

Bill Costello visits the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

S. Koreans Excel in Math and Science

Bill Costello — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:19:47 +0000

The South Korean education system produces students with some of the world’s highest test scores in math and science. According to the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, their eighth graders ranked second in math performance when compared with international peers from 58 countries. In science, they ranked fourth.

Singapore Students Excel in Math

Bill Costello — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:00:03 +0000

Singapore students are among the best in the world at math according to the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

First administered in 1995, the TIMMS has assessed the science and math performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students from several countries every four years.

In 1995, 1999, and 2003, Singapore students in [...]

Hong Kong Fourth Graders Dominate Math

Bill Costello — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:47:29 +0000

According to the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the world’s best fourth-grade math students were from Hong Kong. Here are the top five performers: Hong Kong SAR (607), Singapore (599), Chinese Taipei (576), Japan (568), and Kazakhstan (549).

In eighth-grade, students from Hong Kong were the world’s fourth best in math. [...]

Hong Kong Students Outperform Massachusetts Students in Math

Bill Costello — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:15:40 +0000

A new study by the American Institutes for Research compared the math performance of third graders from the highest performing country (Hong Kong) with their peers from the highest performing state (Massachusetts).

It concluded that “exposure, in Hong Kong, to mathematics problems that are computationally more difficult and/or cognitively more complex than those in Massachusetts at [...]

Pittsburgh Students Unprepared for Competitive Economy

Bill Costello — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:16:33 +0000

Public schools in Pittsburgh—like most U.S. public schools—are failing to prepare students to compete in the increasingly global economy.

One-third of high school graduates from the Pittsburgh region lack proficiency in basic reading and math skills.

Harold D. Miller, adjunct professor of public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University, writes:

We wouldn’t expect a business to thrive if one-third [...]

Let’s Get Back to Worksheets

Bill Costello — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:38:33 +0000

The U.S. is falling behind the world in math. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “We are lagging the rest of the world, and we are lagging it in pretty substantial ways.”

A special analysis put out by the National Center for Education Statistics found that the math performance of U.S. high schoolers was in the [...]

Good Education, Made in Taiwan

Bill Costello — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:15:51 +0000

Recently I was invited to observe classes at two public elementary schools in Taiwan: Dan Fong Elementary School and Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of Taipei Municipal University of Education (ESTMUE).

Dan Fong Elementary is located in Taipei County. With more than 2,000 students, it’s considered a middle-sized elementary school in Taiwan.

Some Taiwanese elementary schools—such as Kuanghua [...]

America’s Reading Gender Gap

Bill Costello — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:24:06 +0000

The good news is that reading scores for 9- and 13-year-olds are the highest ever according to results recently released from the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The bad news is that boys trail girls in reading performance at all age levels. The gap at age 9 is 8 points, at age 13 is 8 [...]

Reform Math Holding U.S. Back

Bill Costello — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:05:25 +0000

New math results on the most important nationwide math test show only 39 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eight graders scored at or above the proficient level. Most students do not have the knowledge and skills commensurate with their grade level.

These results aren’t surprising considering the fact that many U.S. schools are [...]

Education Gender Gaps in Japan

Bill Costello — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:21:17 +0000

On international assessments of educational performance, Japan is one of the top performing countries in science and math.

The two primary international assessments that examine the performance of students in science and math are the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The former assesses science and math [...]