DID U KNOW THAT ENGLAND STUDENTS PER....

Results based on a test taken by
85,000 pupils across 44
jurisdictions
Boys did better than girls in
reversal of the picture seen in GCSE
exams
Singapore, South Korea, Japan,
Canada and Australia all did better
However Wales, Northern Ireland
and Scotland didn't take part
It follows England's demotion from
the top 20 nations in maths and
reading
English teenagers are among the best in
Europe at solving practical problems, a
league table revealed yesterday.
The nation’s 15-year-olds came 11th in the
world in a new test – ahead of their peers
in the United States and all other European
countries except Finland.
The results are welcome news following
England’s demotion from the top 20 nations
in maths and reading.
However Singapore, South Korea, Japan and
Hong Kong, which all have strong academic
records, did better.
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The rankings, based on a test taken by
85,000 pupils across 44 jurisdictions, show
that English teenagers are better at solving
real-life problems – such as adjusting a
thermostat or selecting the cheapest rail
tickets – than they are at tackling academic
subjects.
England is one of only a handful of countries
where teenagers are better at problem-
solving than maths, reading and science. Boys did slightly better than girls, in a
reversal of the picture seen in national
GCSE exams taken a year later.
Experts said the finding suggested GCSEs
may be ‘unfair’ to boys.
The OECD, which produced the league table,
insisted the difference in performance
between boys and girls was not statistically
significant.
The computer-based 40-minute test was the
first of its kind run by the OECD, which
regularly examines pupils’ performance in
richer nations.
Pupils in England scored 517, against an
OECD average of 500.
Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland didn’t
take part.
The highest score was achieved by
Singapore, with 562.
Outside East Asia, the highest marks were
achieved by Canada, Australia and Finland,
with England coming 11th.
‘In England, students perform significantly
better, on average, in problem solving than
students in other countries who show
similar performance in mathematics,
reading and science,’ the OECD report said.
‘This is particularly true among strong
performers in mathematics, which suggests
that these students, in particular, have
access to learning opportunities that prepare
them well for handling complex, real-life
problems.’
A Department for Education spokesman
said: ‘Our young people are strong in
problem-solving. This is a skill we should
build on.’

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