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Israeli education minister declares math 'state of emergency'

The TIMSS math results for 2015 show Israel dropping nine places, but does this necessarily mean that Israeli students are doing poorly in math?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Education Minister Naftali Bennett with pupils during a visit at the "Tamra HaEmek" elementary school on the first day of the school year, in the Arab Israeli town of Tamra, Israel September 1, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2NR9F
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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.

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