Wealth Blog | Shanghai schools top global education league

Shanghai school kids head the international league table of over-achieving 15-year-olds. Meanwhile United Kingdom pupils failed to make the world’s top 20 in maths, reading and science. In common with most east and southeast Asian countries, Hong Kong kids did very well, coming second globally in most subjects. In maths, it was Shanghai first, Hong Kong second, Singapore third, Taiwan fourth, South Korea fifth, Macau sixth, Japan seventh, little Lichtenstein eighth, neighbour Switzerland ninth, and Netherlands tenth. Germany came in at 16, Vietnam 17. France 25, the UK 26 and USA 36. Bottom were several South American countries, such as Brazil at 58 and Peru at 65.

Shanghai emerges as the top education system in the PISA tests - the Programme for International Student Assessment by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. These are international tests in maths, reading and science, taken by 500,000 15-year-old pupils in 65 countries and local administrations. Apparently these are the most influential rankings in international education. They measure education in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, parts of the Middle East and Asia and one African country, Tunisia.

So far China has not been judged as a whole country, but is expected to do so when the OECD holds tests again in three years time. In scores for reading, Shanghai comes first, with Hong Kong second, Singapore third, Japan fourth, South Korea fifth, Finland sixth and I’m glad to say, my own home country Ireland at seventh. Taiwan is eighth, Canada ninth and Poland tenth.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore top the science league, followed by Japan, Finland, Estonia, South Korea, Vietnam, Poland and Canada in tenth place. Asia does extremely well, with Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan among the highest ranked across all subjects. Meanwhile the UK has slipped in science from 16th to 21st place since the last tests three years ago. It comes 23rd for reading, broadly similar to three years ago. So you have to ask, why do so many Asian and especially Chinese parents mortgage their souls to send their children to school in Britain? Why not send them to Shanghai or stick with Hong Kong? Kids from China remain the biggest nationality of overseas pupils attending British schools. 
 

Food for thought

Parents might do well to study these PISA results and note that Vietnam has overtaken the US and UK in education rankings. Vietnam is an awful lot closer than the UK and probably a lot cheaper.  And if you look carefully, individual states can outperform countries. If viewed alone, and not as part of America as a whole, the state of Massachusetts comes sixth globally, ahead of any European country. 
 

Evading responsibility