Spanish nine-year-olds’ education below average Western standards
Study finds nation's fourth graders lagging behind EU and OECD nations in reading, math and science skills
Spanish fourth grade elementary schoolchildren are below the average level in reading, mathematics and science among European Union and OECD countries, according to a study carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
The reading tests were given to 8,580 Spanish students in 312 centers out of a total sample worldwide of 255,000 in 48 countries. The mathematics and sciences tests were taken by 4,183 Spanish children in 151 educational centers out of a total of 261,000 in 63 countries.
In mathematics, only one percent of Spanish children were graded as excellent, compared with five percent for the OECD
In the reading test carried out between March and April of 2011, Spanish students scored 513 points, slightly above the reference point of 500 points. The average figure for the 25 countries in the OECD was 538 points and 534 points in the case of the EU. The highest scores were recorded by Hong Kong, Russia and Finland. Four percent of Spanish students were classified as excellent, compared with 10 percent for the OECD, while six percent lagged behind, as opposed to a mere three percent in the OECD.
In mathematics, Spain obtained 482 points, below the OECD with 522 points and the EU as a whole with 519. Only one percent of Spanish children were graded as excellent, compared with five percent for the OECD, while 13 percent were laggards, compared with seven percent in the OECD. The leading places were Hong Kong, Northern Ireland and the Flemish community in Belgium. In sciences, Spain scored 505 points, below the average in the OECD of 523 points and the EU with 521. The ratio of struggling students in Spain was 8 percent, compared with six percent for the OECD. The leading countries were Finland and Russia.
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