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Maths & Science performance decreasing amongst girls
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound, on 04/12/2024.
Tags: Education And Politics Teachers
Students in Ireland continue to perform highly in TIMSS 2023 - an international assessment of Mathematics and Science achievement.
Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has today welcomed the TIMSS 2023 results, which show Ireland’s fourth class and second year students are performing significantly higher than the international average in Mathematics and Science. Minister Foley congratulated all those involved in the testing, particularly the students themselves and also their dedicated teachers.
TIMSS is one of the world’s largest studies of educational achievement in Mathematics and Science. It assesses the Mathematics and Science skills of students in fourth grade and eighth grade (corresponding to fourth class and second year in Ireland). The study is directed internationally by the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Centre at Boston College, USA, and is managed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
In 2023, TIMSS was administered to over 650000 students in 65 countries. In Ireland, the assessments were administered to a random sample of approximately 6,365 fourth class pupils in primary schools and 6,321 second year students in post-primary schools.
Results Remain Stable
Gráinne McHugh, one of the report’s authors, said:
“The consistent finding of stability in overall achievement in Mathematics and Science at both fourth class and second year in Ireland is encouraging, especially given the disruptions to schooling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the period from the last cycle of TIMSS in 2019”.
Dr Sylvia Denner, another author, said that:
“While overall performance at second year has remained stable since 2015, the mean score achieved by second year girls in TIMSS has decreased significantly over time, since 2019 for Mathematics and since 2015 for Science. So, we now see for the first time in 2023 significant gender differences in TIMSS, with boys significantly outperforming girls in both Mathematics and Science. Over the coming months, we will conduct more detailed analysis on this gender difference including an examination of attitudes towards learning n both subjects.”
Dr Aidan Clerkin, another author, said:
“One challenge that had been highlighted in previous studies was the underperformance of higher-achieving students in Ireland compared to other countries. From that perspective, an important new finding from TIMSS 2023 is that we are now seeing more students reaching the more advanced benchmarks for Mathematics and Science compared to earlier studies. While this is a positive finding, there is still scope for further improvement among higher-achievers. At the same time, it will also be important to ensure that students who experience more difficulties continue to receive appropriate support in the coming years.”
An information note on the report and the report itself can be found online here .
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