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.