When the results of the 2015 international Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) tests were released Nov. 29, Israeli students showed a marked decline in math and the sciences. Nevertheless, Education Minister Naftali Bennett was ready with a pat and efficient response, at least as far as he was concerned. “Remember how everybody attacked me over my obsession with mathematics? Now you see why. When it comes to the study of math, we are facing a state of emergency,” Bennett wrote on his Facebook page soon after the results were released to the media.
The new data shows that compared with the previous test in 2011, Israel dropped nine places in the worldwide math ranking of students, from seventh to 16th place. Similarly, it dropped six places in the sciences, from 13th to 19th. TIMSS is an international test, held every four years, to assess the level of knowledge and competency of eighth-grade students in math and science. Israel has been participating in these tests since 1999.
Soon after Bennett entered the Ministry of Education, he launched an expensive campaign to encourage the study of math. The project came under fire from every side. At 75 million shekels ($19.5 million), not only was it too costly for many, it was also considered much too aggressive. That explains why the current minister of education was quick to take advantage of the release of the results to boast about how he identified the problem and took steps to correct it. In his Facebook post and his response to the press, Bennett made a point of emphasizing that the test took place in March 2015, two months before he assumed his current position. Declaring the decline in Israel’s international ranking as a “state of emergency” will help him in future budget debates.
While Bennett, the chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, was cheerful, the Twitter account of former Education Minister Gideon Saar (Likud) also reflected a certain level of personal satisfaction. “Israel’s dramatic improvement in the TIMSS test rankings when I was minister of education resulted — first and foremost — from the setting of clear goals for improvement on the international tests. That is the way to succeed.” Saar served as minister of education from 2009 to 2013. The results of the TIMSS tests released in 2012 showed a significant improvement in the ranking of Israeli students.
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