“For anyone who still doesn’t understand why I’m ‘obsessive’ about revolutionizing math, English and science education, these are the results of the international PISA [Program for International Student Assessment] test conducted two years ago, before I took office,” wrote Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett on his Facebook page Dec. 7. This so-called obsession is apparently a direct boost to the campaign he launched upon taking office to encourage expanded math studies in high school. “We will not ease up. This is vital for us,” the leader of the HaBayit HaYehudi Party pledged in his post.
He appended to his latest post a report reflecting the dismal state of the Israeli education system as measured by the PISA, which tests 10th-graders in 72 countries in math, science and reading. Israel scored lower than average among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), receiving 467 points as opposed to the OECD average of 493. The gap between Israeli students who excelled at the test and those who encountered difficulties was one of the widest in the world, and the widest among the OECD states.
