Asian Teens Lead World in Science as Indonesia Ranks Near Bottom

Jakarta Globe, May 14, 2015

Students in Surabaya taking the National Exam last week. (Antara Photo/
Herman Dewantoro)

Jakarta. Asian nations make up the entire top 5 of best performers in the biggest-ever school rankings compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but Indonesia was placed in the bottom ten.

A BBC report on the rankings, which are set to be formally presented at the World Education Forum in South Korea next week, shows Singaporean 15-year-0lds lead the world in knowledge of mathematics and science, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

A total of 76 countries were included in the survey, said to be much more comprehensive than the OECD’s PISA tests, which also saw Indonesia perform poorly.

In the latest amalgamated rankings, Indonesia is placed 69th, just ahead of Botswana, Peru and Oman. Neighboring Malaysia is ranked 52nd and Thailand is placed 47th.

Besides Singapore, another Southeast Asian nation performing well is Vietnam, ranking 12th.

Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada make up the remainder of the top ten, while Australia ranks 14th and the United States 28th.

Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s education director, implies in the BBC report that the secret to success is better teachers.

“If you go to an Asian classroom you’ll find teachers who expect every student to succeed. There’s a lot of rigor, a lot of focus and coherence,” Schleicher says. “These countries are also very good at attracting the most talented teachers in the most challenging classrooms, so that every student has access to excellent teachers.”