Study: German fourth graders have below average numeracy skills

BERLIN. German students perform below average in math and science compared to other EU countries. Last year, a quarter of fourth graders had only rudimentary or low numeracy skills, as the international TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) shows.

According to this, only six percent of German students who attended fourth grade could be assigned to the highest proficiency level. The EU average was 9.4 percent. In East Asia the value was significantly higher. Singapore took first place with 54 percent. This was followed by South Korea and Russia. The average for the OECD countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) was 11.5 percent.

The mathematical competence of German students remained unchanged. In the natural sciences, however, there was a slight deterioration. Around 27.6 percent lacked the basic principles for teaching. In addition, only 6.9 percent achieved the top level of competence.

Immigrant students do worse
The differences in performance between students with and without a migration background are particularly serious. In the natural sciences, children with foreign roots were 60 points behind. That corresponds roughly to the learning progress of two years. They lagged about a year behind with their arithmetic skills.

"The results presented do not allow us to draw a positive conclusion for 2019 either," warned study director Knut Schwippert. The results of the study showed that the various efforts in Germany to reduce the performance differences between German and foreign children have not yet led to success.

Source: Junge Freiheit