The results of the international PISA tests, published yesterday, left Israel out. Not because the local students are that bad - they simply did not participate in the exams. Because the previous test, which was held worldwide in 2000, was held in Israel two years late, it preferred This time the Ministry of Education will forgo the honor of participating in the 2003 Pizza. This way Israel can relax in the stands this time and examine the achievements of the 30th graders In a world without the shame associated with ranking 41th out of XNUMX countries - alongside Latin American countries, Bulgaria and Albania - as happened in the previous tests.
This time it is the USA that is wading in the lower league. The superpower, which for more than a decade has been leading an educational reform whose slogan is "no child will be left behind", has deteriorated from 19th place in mathematics to 28th place, between Latvia and Russia. About a quarter of the American examinees were rated as having only minimal ability in mathematics , below the lowest level defined by the exams.
On the other hand, at the top of the list again this time - as in the PISA 2000 tests, which concentrated on reading - are Hong Kong and Finland. The main part of the test this time was devoted to mathematics, and other parts dealt with reading and science. In mathematics, the students from Hong Kong led, followed by Finnish students; the Finns led in reading, and in science South Korea, Finland and Hong Kong were also included in the top ten Holland, Liechtenstein, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Macao (China) and Switzerland (see graph).
The team on behalf of the member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), which conducted the tests among approximately 250 students worldwide, states in its announcement that most of the countries that reached the top places are established countries. Also, in most of the European countries that reached the top ten, a welfare policy is followed. In all the countries that participated in the tests, it turned out, the achievements of children of parents who are more wealthy, and who grew up in homes with books, music, plastic arts, etc., were significantly higher than their peers. Prof. Zamira Mbarech from Bar Ilan University - who, together with Dr. Bracha Kramerski, was responsible for the PISA tests that took place in Israel about two years ago - adds that the countries that are at the top of the table, for example Finland and the Netherlands, are also the countries where the gaps in education were the lowest.
Israel, on the other hand, ranked first in the previous PISA tests when it comes to educational gaps between students. In Israel, the strong connection between the students' socio-economic status and their achievements stood out, and the differences between schools were evident. "In Israel, a student can say who his parents are and in which house Sefer Lemmed, and according to this he can be placed, with a great degree of certainty, in the achievement table," says Maverach. "Countries like the Netherlands, where the gaps are from the lowest and are among the outstanding countries, should serve as a model for us." A speaking committee, established following the failure in the international tests, was supposed to take this into account.
In the meantime, the captains of the education system in Israel only have a few days to breathe easy: Next week, they will be forced to leave the stands and move to the heart of the arena, with the publication of the results of other international tests, the TIMSS. These tests - which test the proficiency in the study material of eighth grade students in mathematics and science - were held in Israel for the last time in 1999; At that time, the local students were ranked 26th in science and 28th in mathematics among 38 countries Towards the publication of the results this time, the estimates are that Israel's situation will improve. In any case, the road to the top of the table is still far.
The equator - school days
After a year that seemed like an eternity, hundreds of thousands of high school students and teachers are leaving for the long-awaited summer vacation. Israeli children attend school 215 days a year, more than in most countries of the world. The gap between American and Chinese education manifests itself, in part, during the school year: every year the Chinese attend the overcrowded classrooms 71 days longer than their peers in the United States.
Masses of students and teachers will also go on vacation in Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Scotland at the end of the month. In Iceland, on the other hand, people are already getting bored of the vacation that started at the end of May. In the Netherlands, Finland and Slovakia will be forced to stare at another month's calendar.
Every British student is allowed to be absent from class like that for just ten days a year. However, the Minister of Education recently warned parents that those who abuse this and take their children on vacation during school will be fined £100.
One million and 700 thousand Israeli students in 3,883 educational institutions are advised to enjoy every moment of the holiday. When they grow up and become employees, they will have to make do with ten paid vacation days a year. Even after working for nine years in the same place, their quota will not exceed 23 days. In this matter (as in many others) one can envy the Finns, that even the starting workers among them are entitled to a month's annual vacation. In Mexico, on the other hand, workers rest from their work only six days a year.
