Figuring it Right

by Wendy Elliman

In the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), an evaluation of educational achievement, 12th-graders from 58 Israeli high schools achieved a score of 557 points, placing them first among 21 participating countries. Russian 12th-graders came in second with 542 points and Swiss youngsters third with a score of 533.

Israels results for physics were also good, with Israel securing fifth place in the world, after Norway, Sweden, Russia and Germany.

"We were, of course, delighted with these results," says Prof. Zemira Mevarech, Chief Scientist of Israels Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. "We knew the level of mathematics in Israel to be very high, but its still important for Israel to know where it stands relative to other countries. This was why we took part in the TIMSS study."

Funded by the National Council for Educational Statistics, the US National Science Foundation, the IEA and the Canadian Government, and carried out by Boston College in 1995/6, the TIMSS study is costly and influential. Israel has participated in the study on all three occasions it has taken place (the first time was in the 1950s), and US President Bill Clinton has based US educational policy, in part, on TIMSS findings.

Encouraging as the recent studys results are for Israel, Prof. Mevarech cautions against complacency. "Our results are good, but theyre drawn from a small and select group," she says. "Only 7 percent of Israeli 12th-graders take advanced math, compared with up to 20 percent in other countries."

Results from further down the school system demonstrate this fact. Israeli 4th- and 8th-graders also took part in the study, taking tests in math and science; in both grades, the schoolchildren emerged in the middle stretches of the 42 countries taking part in this section of the study.

"This result doesnt demonstrate any deterioration in skills or ability," says Prof. Mevarech. "First, its a comparison of apples and pears advanced math was tested among the 12th-graders, and math and science among the younger children. And secondly, the younger population was unselected. Teaching can, of course, always be improved, but the 4th- and 8th-grade results are not alarm signals."

Why are Israeli students so good at advanced math? A very advanced curriculum is taught by up-to-date, high-level teaching methods, including special computer programs. Moreover, students as well as the educational system as a whole regard the advanced math course as important and prestigious.

One disappointing aspect did, however, arise from the TIMSS study. "Gender differences still plague math in Israel," says Prof. Mevarech. "Significantly more boys than girls still select math and physics, and they usually do better in these subjects than the girls. Our gender gap, in fact, emerged in the study as the largest in the world, and its this gap we must work to close. Other countries the prime example is the United States have succeeded in closing this gap over the years, and we must now concentrate on doing the same."

Towards this aim, the Ministry is examining issues such as: Where does the gender bias come from? Does Israeli society emphasize achievement for boys over girls, and is this something that the schools reflect? Do teachers and parents encourage boys more than girls in math? Are math textbooks oriented more toward boys than girls?

"Were just at the beginning of our investigation," says Prof. Mevarech, "but were also examining programs that have been used to close the gender gap elsewhere, to see if we can adapt them for Israel."

Meanwhile, Israels mathematically gifted 12th-graders have graduated high school. Most, according to statistics from previous years, will pursue further study and academic careers. These statistics, drawn from different studies, show that proportionately Israel has both the highest number of students in the world studying math and physics in post-high school frameworks, as well as the largest proportionate number of PhDs in math and physics.