East Asian students lauded as world’s most advanced in Science and Mathematics

BANGKOK, December 11 (TNA) - An updated global report of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study or TIMSS 2011 has lauded East Asian students as the world’s most advance in science and mathematics. The TIMSS 2011 global report was conducted among 63 countries and 14 benchmarking participants by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), with four member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) namely Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore participating in the assessment. Thailand's Institute for the Promotion of Teaching of Science and Technology or IPST’s Deputy Director Preecharn Dechsri told a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday that among the participating ASEAN member countries, students in Singapore remained top performers in fourth and eighth grade mathematics and science, while Thailand was ranked second in science after Singapore and in mathematics after Malaysia. TIMSS 2011, released globally on December 11, 2012, however, indicated East Asian countries were on the global top in mathematics, science and reading, with students in Singapore, Korea and Hong Kong found to be top performers in fourth grade mathematics, while Korean and Singaporean students led the world in science. At the eighth grade, students in Korea, Singapore and Taiwan led the world in science, while Singapore alone led the world in mathematics. (TNA)