Canada Drops in Math Rankings

[socialist]

Actually, I don't think this PISA ranking as concerning. No body knows the factors that occurred when these tests were being administered. People will think this means the end of the world, but it doesn't.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/canadas-fall-in-math-education-ranking-sets-off-red-flags/article15730663/

[jacee]

Different perspectives ...

New OECD Report Shows High Levels of Achievement by Canadian Students

The facts:

- Canadian students still score high, well above the OECD average.

- Changes in "rankings" don't likely indicate any statistically significant change, a fact that journalists don't comprehend.

- The Globe graphic is propaganda, not 'reporting', because most countries below Canada are left out: IE, the graph is rigged to make it look like we're near the bottom when in fact we're well above the average, among the top ranking countries.

Full rankings available at "Measuring up ..." pdf link here:

http://www.cmec.ca/252/Programs-and-Initiatives/Assessment/Programme-for-International-Student-Assessment-%28PISA%29/PISA-2012/index.html

- John Manley is clueless on this topic.

Edited December 3, 2013 by jacee

[Michael Hardner]

jacee

Very astute.

Speaking of failing marks, the Globe doesn't indicate the raw scores over those past years and the link to the original report doesn't WORK.

My headling: "Canada drops in MSM reporting rankings"

[Mighty AC]

Several countries have worked to improve their math literacy scores over the past 8 years or so. Teaching methods have changed and students have shown an increased ability to recognize and solve real world math problems. An unintended consequence of this change though was a drop in computational math scores on timed tests. Students can still do the problems but with a lower focus on memorization students tend to take longer to solve them. This consequence was noted in several countries including Canada and even Finland whose current education system is often considered the gold standard. Anyway, tweaks are currently being made in an attempt to retain the math literacy gains we've made while also restoring our previous computational math performance.

[Michael Hardner]

More relevant comments - thank you MAC. Do you have a link on your information ?

[cybercoma]

I've worked with PISA data. The tests are standardized with a mean of 500 (weighting and sampling issues can make it within a few points of that, e.g., reading I think was 496). Canada is still above the mean, right around where we usually are.

Why is standardization important to understand? If everyone's math scores across the entire OECD goes up, the mean is still 500. So, you can't really say kids today aren't doing as well in math as they were before. The scores are relative to the mean. Also, there's a tremendous amount of variation in the scores even within the country. Our students math scores range from low 400 to 600+. There are a lot of variables at play here that need to be analyzed and it's not entirely accurate to generalize about the entire nation.

Edited December 3, 2013 by cybercoma

[socialist]

Math isn't the be all to end all. Kids need to be engaged in math and one of the most effective ways to engage learners is to let them develop their own strategies using ipads. The learners love it.

[socialist]

An updated article.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/were-on-it-education-ministers-respond-to-math-results/article15726710/

[socialist]

Here is an interview discussing math with a University of Manitoba professor. It's nice to see education stories on TV.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/2976711787001#2976926318001