[ad_1]
In the first year of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), in 1995, Portugal was one of the participating countries, but with an unfavorable debut. 4th year students had the worst performance internationally. Since then, the results have evolved in a positive and sustained way, with Portugal abandoning the bottom of the list. The bad news is that between 2015 and the last edition of TIMSS, held last year and whose results have just been released, the results have worsened.
After the glow in 2015, when Portuguese fourth-grade students performed better in math than their Finnish classmates, 2019 saw an average drop from 541 to 525 points, still statistically above the 500-point median on the scale. used by TIMSS and ranging from 0 to 1000. The results place the country in position 20 among the 58 participating countries and regions. Five years ago, he was ranked 13.
This international evaluation is carried out every four years, it is coordinated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and, although it does not have the PISA projection (the highest evaluation in Education, carried out by the OECD), it allows us to understand how the students evolve and they compare math and science at two different times in the educational system: fourth and eighth grade.
Science, the results had already fallen in 2015 and fell again in 2019, albeit in a statistically irrelevant way. The performance is now in the international average.
For the Undersecretary of State for Education, João Costa, the decline is the result of the educational policies applied by former Minister Nuno Crato, during the Passos Coelho Government (2011-2015). This is because the 4th year students who took TIMSS 2019 are the “generation of curricular goals (approved in 2013) and have followed them since the 1st school year,” argued the government official in an online session to present the results to social communication.
The curricular goals were defined for all the subjects of basic and secondary education and served as a concrete and precise guide on the knowledge that students should acquire at the end of each school year. But what happened, continues João Costa, is that the demand associated with these goals ended up lowering performance. “The results of Portuguese students in the latest international studies – TIMSS, PIRLS (reading) and PISA – are consistent and reflect the effects of the reforms applied between 2012 and 2015”.
On the contrary, continues the Secretary of State, the elimination of the national exams at the end of the 4th year (and also the 6th year) cannot be indicated as an explanatory cause, because the evolution of the results comes from behind and “before 2013, no such evidence existed ”.
The importance of what you have at home
But what these international studies have also unequivocally demonstrated – and TIMSS is no exception – is that there are factors other than educational policies that have a great influence.
One is the frequency of preschool education. Students who never attended kindergarten scored an average of 49 points lower than those who attended three or more years. Sciences, in the 4th year, the difference is 31 points.
Others have to do with the socioeconomic composition of the school they attend, the importance that principals attribute to school success, or a safer and more organized school environment. But even more decisive are the learning resources available at home, such as the existence of books or an Internet connection.
The performance difference between students with more resources at home, both in Portugal and in the international average, is around and even exceeds 100 points compared to those with few means of support in the family context.
By performance levels, 74% of 4th grade students reached intermediate level in Mathematics and 67% in Science. The highest level of the scale reached 9% and 2%, respectively, while 5% and 7% did not reach the minimum required (below 400 points).
TIMSS also tests performance in year eight, which was featured in the 2019 edition with fewer participating countries. Portugal entered for the second time (the first was in 1995) and, as expected, the results have improved considerably over time.
Other constants evidenced by this evaluation are related to differences in gender and type of school. The differences, for which various explanations, including the composition of the population, are significant in favor of the private ones.
Boys also re-average higher scores than girls, although these differences fade with age and there is even a later inflection, as shown in high school exams.
Asian success
At the international level, the countries / economies of East Asia stand out again, as indicated in the report of the Institute of Educational Evaluation, which coordinates this and other international studies in Portugal.
Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong had the best results in TIMSS tests, with Singapore leading all the rankings. Mathematics, fourth and eighth grade students scored over 610 points.
