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Dec 16, 2012
Kudos on New Math Achievements
A Guest Post by Dr. Harold Goldmeier
Dr. Harold Goldmeier, originally from Chicago, Ill. and more recently from Bet Shemesh, Israel; harold.goldmeier@gmail.com; Dr. Goldmeier is a business management consultant and writer with a special interest in education and NGOs.
I have been writing about the fragile nature of science
and math education in Israel for several months. STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)
education scores were falling or teetering on the edge prompting university
professors to speak out about the need to prop up the system. Our high school
students did very well in international STEM Olympiad competitions around the
world this summer, but more is expected from most of them.
Apparently, things are improving. In
the past four years, international high school student math achievement test
scores climbed. Israel is now firmly in seventh
place worldwide. Their science test
scores moved Israel’s high school student ranking into 13th place
among the 42 countries according The Trends in International Mathematics and Science
Study. Our fourth grade student reading scores moved Israeli youngsters into
eighteenth place from thirty-first place since 2006.
Minister of Education Gideon Sa’ar
and his staff deserve praise for providing the money and leadership resulting
in these impressive gains. Since 2009,
Sa’ar annually leads the fight to increase the budget for these subjects
securing an increase from NIS 38 million to NIS 450million. Now the results are coming in. In other
advanced countries, education budgets are sinking proving more is never
achieved by spending less.
Teachers in the classrooms,
principals, parents and students deserve special recognition for these achievements.
Their hard work put the money to good use.
Hopefully, the next government of
Israel will understand what this means.
To build on the new momentum, the government must
- Keep Sa’ar in his current position. Nothing ensures successful turnarounds over the long term like continuity of the top people.
- Continue expanding STEM budgets, teacher pay, and improving curricula to reach children in all grades in public and private schools. A vibrant and healthy STEM education program will positively affect the nation’s economy into the future, and these are the subjects that can appeal to religious educators and minority community leaders looking to ease the access of their children into the workforce.
- Consider appointing a special community advisory board to advocate for even greater commitments from the government and private sector, and advise these folks on how they might best invest their resources. Higher education programs generously supplement the Ministry’s initiatives, while private companies and NGO’s donate money and the expertise of their employees for special school programs.
Lets keep up the momentum, and show
the world and us that Israel is number one in the world in its commitments to
quality and universal education.
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