Korean High School Students Number 1 in Science, Number 2 in Mathematics, Last Place for Interest in School and Originality

Our nation`s high school students` level of accomplishment in study of science, mathematics, and reading is ranked highly among OECD member nations but the level of reading among top students is ranked the lowest.

Although the overall student performance is high, the level of interest in reading and mathematics for Korean students is the lowest among OECD countries. This indicates that students force themselves to study because of the entrance exams.

Female students performed better in reading while male students excelled in mathematics and science, the difference in performance between female and male students being the greatest among OECD countries.

The OECD published the results of its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which was conducted last year and tested 15 year old students in 32 countries including 27 member nations, on December 4.

4982 freshmen students in high school participated in the test in July of last year. The report, simultaneously published in the 32 countries, measured not so much the amount of knowledge acquired from school study as the ability to apply knowledge in everyday life.

Korean students were ranked 6th in reading, 2nd in mathematics, 1st in science, much higher in all three subjects than the test average among OECD nations.

For reading in English, however, Korean students made up only 5.7 percent of those who reached the highest fifth level and came in 21st, considerably behind New Zealand (19 percent), Finland and Australia (18 percent).

Furthermore, among the nations` top five percent, Korean students fell to 20th place for reading, 6th place for mathematics, and 5th place for science.

Japan, which has a similar educational system as Korea, came in 6th in reading, 1st for mathematics, and 2nd for science, coming close to Korean performance. For its top five percent, however, Japan came in 13th for reading, 2nd for mathematics, and 1st in science, beating Korea.

As for the level of interest in school subjects, sense of self, and self-initiated study, Korean students ranked the lowest.

Korean students ranked 19th in reading and mathematics among 20 countries in their response to the question about interest level, `Do you enjoy reading (and mathematics)`. They also came in last among 20 countries in response to the self-awareness question, `I read (or do mathematics) well.`

Female students performed better in reading while male students did better in mathematics and science. The difference in performance was the smallest in reading among the OECD countries but was the largest in mathematics and science.

The chief researcher Huh Kyoung-Chul of the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation said, "Korean students` academic performance was generally high. The document shows that the students excel in academic study but fall behind in problem-solving and originality. It reveals some of the problems in our national pedagogy."

Lee In-Chul inchul@donga.com