Israeli writer: Are Israeli students that stupid? | policy

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz published two articles by Israeli writer Lior Datel, in which he points out a noticeable decline in the levels of Israeli students in mathematics and reading comprehension.

Datel’s article published today, Saturday, was entitled: “Less intelligent than a 10-year-old: Are Israeli students that stupid?”, indicating that Israel ranked last among 15 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the fields of mathematics and reading comprehension.

Ranking tail

His other article published the day before yesterday considered that “it is difficult to be a thinker in Israel today,” noting that the results of the students’ tests confirm this decline, as they ranked at the bottom of the rankings among the countries of the organization, whether in last or penultimate place according to various indicators.

He added that the tests measure basic skills in daily life, such as understanding the instructions written on a medication package or calculating the amount of materials needed to complete simple tasks such as installing wallpaper.

He pointed out that 40% of Israeli adults failed the problem-solving test conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, compared to an average of 29% in the organization’s countries.

Highest failure rates

According to the classification, which included 15 member states of the organization, Israeli students recorded the highest failure rates in mathematics, while Israel ranked second in terms of poor performance in reading comprehension after Poland.

Regarding the results for adults (25-65 years old), the data showed that 34% of Israelis failed the mathematics test, compared to an average of 25% in OIC countries, while only 8% of them achieved the highest levels (4 and 5), compared to an average of 14%.

As for reading comprehension, 36% of adults in Israel failed, compared to an average of 26% in OIC countries, while only 7% of those who reached the higher levels failed, compared to an average of 12%.

Datil:
Adult skills in Israel are among the weakest among developed countries, with a continuous decline since 2015

Adults too

Datil points out that adult skills in Israel are among the weakest among developed countries, with a continuous decline since 2015.

On the problem-solving test, 40% of Israelis failed, compared to 29% on average, and only 3% achieved advanced levels, compared to 5% in OIC countries. Overall, about 24% of adults in Israel failed all three tests, compared to 18% in OIC countries, reflecting difficulties in dealing with basic tasks in mathematics, reading, and problem solving.

The organization’s data also showed a decline in Israel’s performance compared to the previous test in 2015.

In international comparison, French and German students recorded the highest levels in reading comprehension, while Singapore and Hungary topped the mathematics results.

Men and Arabs

For its part, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicated in an analysis published last May that there were internal differences in skill levels, based on reading tests, where men constituted 54% of those who failed, and the percentage of Arabs among them reached 43%, although they represent 22% of the population, while the percentage of Haredim reached 16%.

The analysis also showed that about a third of low-skilled people work in jobs that require university qualifications, including technical and administrative jobs, indicating a gap between skill level and labor market requirements.

The vast majority of them were born in Israel

The Bureau of Statistics indicated that 82% of those with low skills were born in Israel, and not recent immigrants. It also indicated that the age group 16-24 years recorded a failure rate of 18%, compared to an average of 11% in OECD countries, which includes students in the educational stages.

Datil points out that one possible explanation for this decline is the increasing dependence on screens and video games among teenagers.

The writer called for the need to strengthen the role of teachers in developing a love of knowledge and teaching students self-learning skills, warning of a deeper cultural decline, and pointing out that the decline in the level of critical thinking may reflect on the future of society, in light of what he described as widespread manifestations of indifference or escape from reality.