Lessons From Shanghai's Top Scores on International Test

Lessons From Shanghai's Top Scores on International Test

Vocabulary

Words	Type	Transcription	Audio	Meaning	Examples
Assessment	N	/əˈses.mənt/		định giá, đánh giá	The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, is a two-hour test that compares the performance of fifteen-year-olds.
around	Adj	/əˈraʊnd/		xung quanh, khoảng chừng	In all, around half a million students in more than seventy economies took the test last year.
take part	V	/teɪk pɑːt/		tham gia	Last year was the first time Shanghai took part.
release	V	/rɪˈliːs/		phát hành, thông báo	The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development just released the results.
administrator	N	/ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stəʳ/		người quản lý, điều hành	And administrators are putting teachers into challenging classroom situations to make them better at their jobs.
comparison	N	/kəmˈpær.ɪ.sən/		sự so sánh	By comparison, the United States scored four hundred eighty-seven.
urgent	Adj	/ˈɜː.dʒənt/		gấp, khẩn cấp	Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the results show an urgent need for Americans to do more to remain competitive in the world economy.
remain	V	/rɪˈmeɪn/		còn lại
confirm	V	/kənˈfɜːm/		xác nhận, chứng thực	Mr. Schleicher says international testing experts have investigated and confirmed the Shanghai scores.
belief	N	/bɪˈliːf/		tin tưởng	But he also says they dispute the common belief that Chinese education is centered on repetition and memorization.

Lessons From Shanghai's Top Scores on International Test

A child wears toy glasses at the Shanghai World Expo in April

Full audio

The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, is a two-hour test that compares the performance of fifteen-year-olds. In the latest test, the countries with the best readers were South Korea and Finland. But students in Shanghai, China, scored the highest of all in reading, mathematics and science.

The next strongest results were in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

In all, around half a million students in more than seventy economies took the test last year. The test has been given every three years since two thousand. Last year was the first time Shanghai took part.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development just released the results. Andreas Schleicher is director of the Education Indicators and Analysis Division at the OECD.

Mr. Schleicher says other education systems can learn from Shanghai. For example, he says education spending in the province has increased, including teacher pay and training. And administrators are putting teachers into challenging classroom situations to make them better at their jobs.

In the PISA scoring system, Shanghai scored six hundred in math. By comparison, the United States scored four hundred eighty-seven.

Shanghai's reading average was five hundred fifty-six. American fifteen-year-olds scored five hundred, the same as in Iceland and Poland.

In science, Finland was second behind Shanghai. The United States was twenty-third.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the results show an urgent need for Americans to do more to remain competitive in the world economy. He points out that the United States has fallen from first to ninth place in college graduation rates because of gains by other countries.

Mr. Schleicher says international testing experts have investigated and confirmed the Shanghai scores. He says the PISA results are not representative of all of China. But he also says they dispute the common belief that Chinese education is centered on repetition and memorization.

Quiz

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Audio

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the results show an need for Americans to do more to competitive in the world economy. He points out that the United States has fallen from first to ninth place in college graduation rates because of by other countries.

Mr. Schleicher says international testing experts have investigated and confirmed the Shanghai . He says the PISA results are not representative of all of China. But he also says they dispute the common that Chinese education is centered on repetition and memorization.