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While students in Ireland continue to perform very well in an international assessment of Mathematics and Science skills, the mean score achieved by second year girls has decreased significantly in both subjects in recent years, with “significant gender differences” now observed.
The assessment – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study – assesses skills of students in fourth grade and eighth grade (corresponding to fourth class and second year in Ireland) in those subjects.
The top 10 performing countries in maths for students whose ages correspond to second year in secondary school in this country were Singapore, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, England, Ireland, Czech Republic, and Sweden – meaning that Ireland was the top-performing EU member state in the maths assessment.
Similarly, the science scores for that age group also showed Ireland achieving results significantly higher than the international average.
However, boys significantly outperformed girls in both subjects, in Ireland, with the assessment showing about half of the countries who tested that category had differences in average mathematics achievement favoring boys.
The Department of Education welcomed the assessment results and said that Ireland’s mean scores for both fourth class pupils and second year students were significantly above international averages – and the mean achievement of Ireland’s fourth class pupils in Mathematics and Science was similar to the two previous cycles (2019 and 2015) and significantly higher than 2011.
The mean achievement of Ireland’s second year students in Mathematics and Science remained relatively stable over the three most recent cycles in which Ireland participated at this grade (2015, 2019 and 2023), they said.
Dr Sylvia Denner, an author of the study, said that: “While overall performance at second year has remained stable since 2015, the mean score achieved by second year girls in TIMSS has decreased significantly over time, since 2019 for Mathematics and since 2015 for Science.”
“So, we now see for the first time in 2023 significant gender differences in TIMSS, with boys significantly outperforming girls in both Mathematics and Science. Over the coming months, we will conduct more detailed analysis on this gender difference including an examination of attitudes towards learning n both subjects,” she said.
Another author, Dr Aidan Clerkin, said that one challenge that had been highlighted in previous studies was the underperformance of higher-achieving students in Ireland compared to other countries.
“From that perspective, an important new finding from TIMSS 2023 is that we are now seeing more students reaching the more advanced benchmarks for Mathematics and Science compared to earlier studies. While this is a positive finding, there is still scope for further improvement among higher-achievers. At the same time, it will also be important to ensure that students who experience more difficulties continue to receive appropriate support in the coming years,” he said.
The eighth-grade (second year) mathematics assessment included four content areas—number (30%), algebra (30%), geometry and measurement (20%), and data and probability (20%). The framework prescribed that the mathematics items assessed eighth-grade students in the three cognitive domains knowing (35%), applying (40%), and reasoning (25%).
Minister Foley said that the high performance reflects the commitment and hard work of our school communities, “particularly amidst the disruption of Covid-19”.
“We have also made significant efforts to improve educational outcomes, including the development of a new Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy, curricular review and redevelopment at primary and post-primary level, the STEM Education Policy Statement and the Digital Strategy for Schools,” she said.
“Despite the high performance, however, it is apparent that there is room for improvement in supporting girls in particular in Mathematics and Science,” she said.
“While the gap between DEIS and Non-DEIS schools has not grown since the last TIMSS cycle we need to do more to narrow this gap,” the Minister added.
Gráinne McHugh, also a co-author of the report said the “consistent finding of stability in overall achievement in Mathematics and Science at both fourth class and second year in Ireland is encouraging, especially given the disruptions to schooling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the period from the last cycle of TIMSS in 2019”.
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