OECD PISA test scores.

[pastafarian]

I did how many 9 mins in 1hr = 6.6666666666666666666666666667 x 4 = 26.6666666…………………
Her journey back was a simple 30 km/h
26.6666……….. +30 = 56.666……… /2=28.33……………

But I can see where I went wrong

did you really need a calculator?

 

[father_and_son]

Once again, the UK lags behind many, many countries in maths tests results.

Only 55% of 15 year-olds could say which was the smallest number from the following list:

1.79
1.796
1.82
1.783

I honestly despair.

Top of the class? China (Shanghai, as opposed to Hong Kong) with 89%.

http://www.oecd.org/pisa/test/form/

That's the trouble with maths... I mean, there are only 10 types of people, those that understand binary and those that don't.

 

[The Large One]

Surely any 15yo who can't work that out in their head is basically unemployable?

Blair, Brown, Blunkett, Morris, Clarke, Kelly, Johnson, Bollx and co have a lot to answer for.

Fascinating that you should turn your attention to ONE administration.

Maths isn't your strong suit either, as the issues relate to MANY administrations.

 

[The Large One]

That's the trouble with maths... I mean, there are only 10 types of people, those that understand binary and those that don't.

Do you think that George Orwell actually feared Room 5 then?

 

[Goldstone1976]

Do you think that George Orwell actually feared Room 5 then?

Or possibly room 1?

 

[symyjym]

did you really need a calculator?

Well only looking at the first part of the question, and wanting to know how many 9 mins were in an hour, and with a calculator to hand. Yes.

However being tested in a proper test environment I would have been forced to look at the second part of the question and I would hope I would have connected the 15 min calculation.

 

[Titanic]

Fascinating that you should turn your attention to ONE administration.

Maths isn't your strong suit either, as the issues relate to MANY administrations.

Surely the current cohort of 15 year olds spent the vast majority of their education (2002-2013) under a New Labour government (1997-2010), who came to power 5 years before they started school with the mantra "Education, education, education"?

 

[Bakero]

I did how many 9 mins in 1hr = 6.6666666666666666666666666667 x 4 = 26.6666666…………………
Her journey back was a simple 30 km/h
26.6666……….. +30 = 56.666……… /2=28.33……………

But I can see where I went wrong

I was trying to work out what you'd done.

The results are quite surprising. All the questions seemed pretty basic to me. If I'd be in the top 3% of current 15 year olds, why did I only get a B in my maths GCSE?

 

[Zebedee]

Once again, the UK lags behind many, many countries in maths tests results.

Only 55% of 15 year-olds could say which was the smallest number from the following list:

1.79
1.796
1.82
1.783

I honestly despair.

Top of the class? China (Shanghai, as opposed to Hong Kong) with 89%.

http://www.oecd.org/pisa/test/form/

But at least we have world class teaching in the UK.

 

[Trevor]

Do you think that George Orwell actually feared Room 5 then?

Room 1100101 possibly

 

[Titanic]

Room 1100101 possibly

Room x'65'

 

[vegster]

I'm truly sorry about your personal circumstances, but I was referring to the country as a whole:

"The average annual earnings of full-time workers in the UK rose by 1.4% to £26,500 in the year to April 2012." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20442666

World average wage = $1,480; call it £2,400. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17543356

Thanks for your condolences, but I fear the figures are skewed, job vacancies are increasingly polarised with plenty of jobs offering minimum wage or just above then few mid wage jobs and then its £25k+ from then on. very difficult to get on the ladder these days.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I don't know why people get so worried about things like this. It's just a result of how the world has developed over the last 1000 or so years.

Of course children in China (and probably India) are going to be better at the basics, many of them are probably faced with a choice of being educated or their whole family starving and living in abject poverty. Give them another 100 years to become more developed and make them house, feed and give medical help to every citizen regardless of literacy or numeracy skills and you'll probably see the results even up a bit.

 

[symyjym]

I was trying to work out what you'd done.

The results are quite surprising. All the questions seemed pretty basic to me. If I'd be in the top 3% of current 15 year olds, why did I only get a B in my maths GCSE?

Yep, she was doing about 28 mph

 

[Titanic]

I don't know why people get so worried about things like this. It's just a result of how the world has developed over the last 1000 or so years.

Of course children in China (and probably India) are going to be better at the basics, many of them are probably faced with a choice of being educated or their whole family starving and living in abject poverty. Give them another 100 years to become more developed and make them house, feed and give medical help to every citizen regardless of literacy or numeracy skills and you'll probably see the results even up a bit.

Of course, you are right. That Joey Essex chap is doing just fine and he doesn't even know how many beans make five. Cool Britannia

 

[Bakero]

I'd bet the average UK teenager would fare much better in a more creative task than a Chinese student. I've taught Chinese and Vietnamese students and they might be very bright but suffer from a severe imagination/opinion deficit. This is directly caused by the rigorous but rigid education system.

For example, in a Vietnamese Literature course the standard format is to read the book, read what the experts say about the book then regurgitate it verbatim in the exam/coursework. Even the idea of paraphrasing is alien. This causes big problems for Asian students studying abroad as for the first time in their lives they asked to do some analysis themselves and offer a reasoned opinion.

Learning maths (or any subject) by rote may yield impressive exam results but it won't necessarily produce well-rounded individuals.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I don't know why people get so worried about things like this. It's just a result of how the world has developed over the last 1000 or so years.

Of course children in China (and probably India) are going to be better at the basics, many of them are probably faced with a choice of being educated or their whole family starving and living in abject poverty. Give them another 100 years to become more developed and make them house, feed and give medical help to every citizen regardless of literacy or numeracy skills and you'll probably see the results even up a bit.

Say that in 15 years time when some of these charlies are working out your tax.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, many eastern cultures are naturally good at basic arithmetic because their counting system is different eg There is no word for eleven - it is 10 and 1. 10 + 10 = 2 lots of ten, rather than twenty etc.

And re your last paragraph, does becoming more developed mean that you then don't have to have a basic understanding of simple arithmetic? How bizarre.

 

[symyjym]

Say that in 15 years time when some of these charlies are working out your tax.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, many eastern cultures are naturally good at basic arithmetic because their counting system is different eg There is no word for eleven - it is 10 and 1. 10 + 10 = 2 lots of ten, rather than twenty etc.

And re your last paragraph, does becoming more developed mean that you then don't have to have a basic understand of simple arithmetic? How bizarre.

I'm just glad we aren't using roman numerals.

 

[dougdeep]

I was always good at mental arithmetic and that was in the days before decimal currency and the metric system. It is so much easier now.

 

[Diego Napier]

I didn't say that at all!

I simply reported which country came top in these tests. S'all.

For the record - I absolutely would like our scores to be at least as good as theirs; but that is a million miles away from saying I want everything else to be like China.

I think most of us realised what you were saying; you've just been a victim of someone who seems to like talking down to others!