英国引进中国数学教育 国际学生评估项目成绩排名显著提升
Britain has jumped up international rankings for maths following Government efforts to import Chinese-style teaching into the classroom. The UK came 18th, up from 27th three years ago, in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) league table.
The PISA tests, which are administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, were taken by 79 countries last year. The assessment is carried out every three years and involves more than half a million 15-year-olds across the globe taking two-hour tests. Last year the UK scored an average of 502 points in mathematics, up from 492 in 2015.
Within the UK, the average score for maths among English pupils (504) was “significantly higher” than scores for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Department for Education said. Experts have said that ministers’ attempts to emulate Chinese teaching methods are likely to have driven up the UK’s test results. Countries in the Far East — including China, Singapore and Hong Kong have long come at the top of the league tables for maths.
Professor Valsa Koshy, an expert in maths education at Brunel University, said, “Importing maths teaching from Far Eastern countries means there has been an emphasis on children needing to master the basic facts and traditional skills such as times tables. This used to be laughed at as too old fashioned.”
In 2014, the Department for Education set up an exchange programme between English and Shanghai schools so that maths teachers could learn about Chinese teaching methods. The programme was followed two years later by a £41 million pound project to train thousands of primary schools to adopt the “Shanghai-style”, also known as the “maths mastery approach”. Maths mastery involves children being taught as a whole class, building depth of understanding of the structure of the subject, and is supported by the use of high-quality textbooks. A series of maths “hubs” were set up around the country to train teachers in the new methods.
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1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the PISA test?
A It is a global test.
B The test lasts two hours.
C It is carried out every three years.
D It includes teaching methods.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第二段可知，经济合作与发展组织(OECD)实施国际学生评估项目PISA 测试，此评估每三年进行一次，涉及全球50多万15岁的年轻人，每次测试两个小时，并未谈及项目包括教学，故选D。
2.What’s the result of the PISA maths test in the UK?
A Scotland’s ranking is the same as that of Wales.
B The score of the UK is far behind the world average.
C The UK ranks higher than any other European country.
D England takes up the top place of the score list in the UK.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第三段Within the UK, the average score for maths among English pupils (504) was “significantly higher” than scores for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Department for Education said.可知，英格兰学生的数学平均分数(504)“明显高于”威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰，也就是说英格兰学生的数学成绩处在英国榜首位置，故选D。
3.What can we infer from Paragraph 3?
A Maths teaching in the UK needs reforming nowadays.
B Maths teaching in China is the most advanced in the world.
C The traditional maths teaching methods are not out of date.
D Far Eastern countries emphasize students’ initiative learning.
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第四段可知，从远东国家引进数学教学意味着一直强调孩子需要掌握基础知识和如乘法表等传统技能，这过去被认为是太老套了，由此推测传统的数学教学方法并没有过时，故选C。
4.What’s the feature of Shanghai maths teaching methods?
A They rely on textbooks completely.
B They deepen the understanding of the subject structure.
C They adopt a group cooperative learning model.
D They carry out a large number of after-class exercises.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第五段Maths mastery involves children being taught as a whole class, building depth of understanding of the structure of the subject, and is supported by the use of high-quality textbooks.可知，数学教学法包括将儿童作为一个整体进行教学，加深对该学科结构的理解，配合高质量的教科书辅助学习，故选B。