Australian primary school students have recorded their best ever results in an international maths and science assessment, curbing concerns about lockdowns disrupting learning.
The 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss), released by the Australian Council for Educational Research (Acer) late on Wednesday, analysed the skills of year 4 and 8 students.
About 14,000 students in Australia participated in the test across 500 diverse schools.
The report found Australian year 4 students, whose first years of schooling occurred doing Covid, ranked equal fifth internationally out of 58 countries, and equal 15th in mathematics.
Both results were significantly higher than the previous Timss test in 2019, when Australian students ranked equal ninth and 23rd respectively. The boost was largely attributed to increases in the proportion of high performers.
In year 8 science, Australia ranked equal eighth out of 44 countries, a slight drop from seventh in 2019, and equal ninth in maths, also down from seventh.
Lead author of the report, Nicole Wernert, said the results were a positive reflection on teachers who had navigated a challenging educational landscape.
“It’s a testament to how well our teachers and schools pivoted to deal with the Covid pandemic,” she said. “Improvements weren’t the same across the board in Australia but the fact we’ve got our best ever results for year 4 and are holding steady at year 8 shows our schools and teachers did an amazing job.”
But the report also found a large gender gap in favour of boys across maths and science in both age groups, primarily due to a significantly higher percentage of male students being very high performers.
Internationally, Australia recorded the equal widest gender gap alongside France in year 4 maths achievement.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen gender gap across both subjects and year levels,” Wernert said. “At year 4 it appears to be a result of a greater improvement in the achievement of year four 4 boys, but at year 8, girls have declined in performance and boys have stayed steady or improved.
“That’s concerning – it’s a warning line that suggests we need to start paying attention.”
Singapore was the top performing country overall in both subjects and age groups, scoring above 600 in all areas. A score of 625 is considered “advanced” while a score of 550 is considered “high” and a score of 475 is “intermediate”.
Australia’s highest score was 550 for year 4 science, followed by year 4 maths (525). Year 8 students scored 520 in science and 509 in maths.
Wernert said the lack of improvement among year 8 students could be partially attributed to young people dropping off in engagement levels after transitioning to high school.
“We do find students’ self-confidence and interest in schooling decline over time,” she said. “Across board internationally only three countries improved in year 8 maths and science.”
While positive on a national level, Wernert noted “disappointing” education gaps remained for priority cohorts including First Nations, regional, remote and low-SES students, and across some states and territories.
Students in New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria significantly outperformed other jurisdictions, including the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
First Nations students improved at a greater rate in year 4 science compared to non-Indigenous students, however they were still trailing below the national average.
“While we haven’t closed the gap, we have reduced the gap,” Wernert said. “The key indicators we use in education are still showing up as being an issue.
“We should be proud but not complacent of these results … we still have these areas where students of particular demographic groups are behind.”
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said the results highlighted that Australia had a “good education system”, but it could be “better and fairer”.
“That’s why we want to invest more money in our public schools and tie that funding to practical reforms that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school,” he said.
