Singapore Tops Biggest Global Education Rankings

[ChiefKiasu]

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/education/story/singapore-tops-biggest-global-education-rankings-published-oecd-20150


Straits Times 13 May 2015
BY PRISCILLA GOY

SINGAPORE - Singapore has done it again, topping the biggest global school rankings published by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Asian countries took the top five spots; African countries were at the bottom.

The analysis, based on test scores in maths and science in 76 countries, is a much wider map of education standards than the OECD's Pisa tests, which focus on more affluent industrialised countries. The latest Pisa test in 2012 polled 65 countries and regions.

OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher said: \"This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education.\" The OECD economic think tank says the comparisons show the link between education and economic growth.

\"The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world's education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them,\" said Mr Schleicher.

Singapore is the top performer but it had high levels of illiteracy into the 1960s, he added, showing how much progress could be made.

The rankings are based on a combination of international tests taken in different regions, putting developed and developing countries on a single scale. The report, published by the OECD, argues that the standard of education is a \"powerful predictor of the wealth that countries will produce in the long run\". It also wrote: \"Poor education policies and practices leave many countries in what amounts to a permanent state of economic recession.\"

This latest league table, ranking more than a third of the world's nations, also highlights the decline of Sweden - ranked 35th - with the OECD warning last week that it had serious problems in its education system. The United Kingdom came in 20th place, among higher achieving European countries, with the United States in 28th.

The findings will be formally presented at the World Education Forum in South Korea next week, where the United Nations is to convene a conference on targets for raising global education by 2030.

The country that was in last place was Ghana.

I wonder what the OECD study measures that makes us the top.

[iRabbit]

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

[ChiefKiasu]

iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

:rotflmao: It's in today's papers. Front page even. I guess it's ok to apply the rules discriminately if you make the rules.

[sushi88]

iRabbit:

But but ... since we were given the impression we should not be celebrating academic achievements (one gets that impression from the discontinued practice of listing top scorers from our national exams, but strangely for sports it's okay), perhaps our MSM should take a leaf from MOE and not print this. :razz:

A result of hasty decision puts this in a joke book.

[Ikid]

So how not to be paper chaser? Tiger mum? Many more parents will send their kids to Singapore to experience Singapore’s education system.

[Nebbermind]

Does such reports bring any relief to parents and kids who need countless tuition and/or enrichment to keep up to the pace?

[pirate]

Nebbermind:

Does such reports bring any relief to parents and kids who need countless tuition and/or enrichment to keep up to the pace?

Yes. Just go acquire some deep skill. :siam:

[optimistforum]

Ikid:

So how not to be paper chaser? Tiger mum? Many more parents will send their kids to Singapore to experience Singapore's education system.

Will it be the the Singapore schools that they experience, or the SG out of school tutors. It is an important point. Here, in the UK I have engaged tutors for a one year period to get my children into state academically selective secondary schools. Upon attending such schools my children have not needed out of hours tuition. The same is true of people I know who have children in normal state secondary schools.

[janet88]

Nebbermind:

Does such reports bring any relief to parents and kids who need countless tuition and/or enrichment to keep up to the pace?

This report confirms that tuition is necessary to keep Singapore in top 10. this kind of report will attract foreigners to bring their kids to experience education here...just like Singaporean parents who flock to xxx school to register their kids for p1 when top PSLE student came from that school.