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Intl. survey: Japanese students improve in math, science, reading rankings NHK

An international survey shows that Japanese high school students ranked in the top level globally in all three of its categories -- mathematics, science and reading.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, conducts the survey that assesses academic performances of 15-year-olds around the world every three years.

About 690,000 students from 81 countries and regions participated in last year's survey, which was conducted one year later than initially scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

From Japan, about 6,000 students at 183 senior high schools took part. Their average scores rose in all three categories, compared to the 2018 survey.

Japanese students jumped from 15th place to third in reading. They climbed from sixth place to fifth in mathematics. In science, they rose from fifth place to second.

Singapore topped all three categories.

The average scores of the 37 OECD member countries fell in all three. The scores in mathematics had the biggest drop.

Japan's education ministry officials attribute the strong performance of Japanese students to the relatively shorter duration of school closures caused by the pandemic, compared to other countries.

They also note that Japanese schools' technological infrastructure has improved and students were more accustomed to taking the survey test on computers.
Summary
International OECD survey reveals top performance of Japanese high school students globally in mathematics, science, and reading categories. Singapore leads all three. Japanese students rose from 15th to 3rd in reading, 6th to 5th in mathematics, and 5th to 2nd in science compared to the 2018
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ID: 9d39c646-51df-4ef1-bc92-420dfca47dfc

Category ID: nhk

URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231205_17/

Date: Dec. 5, 2023

Created: 2023/12/06 06:30

Updated: 2025/12/08 20:34

Last Read: 2023/12/06 11:29