Israel needs to improve its math skills. Prof. Yaakov Katz, head of the Pedagogic Council in the Ministry of Education, explained to Arutz-7:
"Every five years, an international comparative math test is administered. Israel has been participating since 1964, and the last test was administered in 1999. In 1964, we were #1, and since then we have gone steadily downhill, finishing 28th out of 38 in the most recent test three years ago. The Education Ministry therefore established a committee, whose recommendations were essentially two-fold: Better training for teachers, especially in elementary school, and changes and improvements of texts and curricula. We are now working on a plan to change the math curriculum, and also to incorporate textbooks used in Singapore - which has finished first in this test several times…"
Asked why Israel doesn't simply return to the math-teaching methods used back in 1964, Prof. Katz responded, "The truth is that the program in Singapore incorporates much of the old system of teaching math, adapted to the 21st century of course, and we will be trying out this system in 20 schools in the coming school year."
"Every five years, an international comparative math test is administered. Israel has been participating since 1964, and the last test was administered in 1999. In 1964, we were #1, and since then we have gone steadily downhill, finishing 28th out of 38 in the most recent test three years ago. The Education Ministry therefore established a committee, whose recommendations were essentially two-fold: Better training for teachers, especially in elementary school, and changes and improvements of texts and curricula. We are now working on a plan to change the math curriculum, and also to incorporate textbooks used in Singapore - which has finished first in this test several times…"
Asked why Israel doesn't simply return to the math-teaching methods used back in 1964, Prof. Katz responded, "The truth is that the program in Singapore incorporates much of the old system of teaching math, adapted to the 21st century of course, and we will be trying out this system in 20 schools in the coming school year."