張貼日期：Dec 13, 2010 3:2:1 AM

The rise and slide of Taiwanese education(中國郵報 12月12日社論)

Forget the fifth-grader for now; are you smarter than a 15-year-old from Shanghai?

When the results for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) came out on Wednesday, Dec. 8, experts were stunned by first time participant and top winner in all three categories of reading, mathematics and science — Shanghai.

No other city or country approximated the evenly consistent high record. Student exam scores from Shanghai beat out every runner-up — from three different countries, respectively — in all three subjects by at least 15 points.

Critics at first, especially those from Taiwan and the United States, were skeptical. Some argued that the Chinese industrial powerhouse attracted the savviest and most privileged of young urbanites, which was reflected in its student population and in turn, the sample tested for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by PISA. Others say an educational system given to rote memorization and rigid textbook thumping is bound to produce students who excel in standardized testing.

However, keep in mind that PISA, a highly regarded triennial international exam for 15-year-olds in 65 developed nations, is unlike the SATs or the National Senior High School Entrance Exams. Administered in the respective test taker's language, the tests aim to assess the general literacy of students nearing the end of their compulsory education and look at their ability to meet real life challenges.

With this in mind, the idea that a study-heavy Chinese education — one that eschews extracurricular activities essential for social development and honing everyday problem solving skills — would help boost PISA scores is moot. If such is the case, then the scores of Japanese and Taiwanese students should be on the same high level as those of Shanghai, given the similar education systems.

As it turns out, the results of the nation's students were disappointing, especially in light of the impressive showing three years before. In the Taiwan PISA 2009 Report, students had slipped in reading ability rankings from 16th to 23rd. Mathematics, the source of pride in 2006 when Taiwan stole the top spot, fell to fifth place; science scores went from fourth to 12th.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) — which has had a rough year dealing with accusations of examination fraud, of suppressing freedom of speech as well as the struggles to pass heavily protested new initiatives — now appears to be at wits end over the results.

The MOE can take comfort in the fact that Shanghai and Singapore, both top scorers, did not participate in the PISA in 2006. It can also console itself with the logistical obstacle of the exams being conducted in March 2009, when PISA Taiwan test takers were already preoccupied with studying for the high school entrance exams.

Or it could see the results as a wake-up call and face the same reality that U.S. Secretary of Education Ame Duncan acknowledged in an interview with the New York Times, and that is “the brutal truth that we're being out-educated.”

Much fuss has been made about the steep slide in reading literacy of Taiwanese students, although the significant drop in all subjects points to a deeper problem. Is it the many distractions made available by advancing technologies (note: Facebook became open to everyone over the age of 13 with a valid email address in 2006)? Is it the old Chinese saying of one generation being unrivaled by the next? If we must emulate a teaching system, which one should we choose in order to churn out well-balanced, highly educated youth?

All the advice in the past appears to point to the West, where emphasis is placed on extra-curricular activities like sports, arts and social awareness through charitable works. However, if PISA scores are the new educational standard, then the U.S. scores of 23rd and 24th in all topics must also point to a flawed system.

Perhaps the purpose of such international exams has less to do with what is learned but shines light on the ways by which each country inculcates.