The result is remarkable and clearly highlights the importance of timely support for students who have less favourable conditions, says the National Agency for Education's project manager Maria Axelsson.
Last year, the international study Timss showed that Swedish fourth and eighth graders have made progress in mathematics in recent years, and in any case have not worsened their results in science.
Now the same group of students has been followed up in grades 5 and 9, with the aim of showing how much the students develop in the subjects in one year. The results show a general improvement – but not for everyone.
Increased gap
In both mathematics and science, the lowest performing students have regressed, and are getting worse results in grade 9 than they had in grade 8. This increases the gap between high and low performers.
Timss 2023 was able to establish that it is still students from well-educated homes who do best. The follow-up shows that social background has an impact in just one school year. While the children of the well-educated climb in terms of knowledge between grade 8 and grade 9, no improvement is seen at all among students from less advantaged home situations, neither in mathematics nor in science.
Many factors
There are many factors that interact, notes Maria Axelsson: attitude towards the subjects, self-confidence and mood.
We know that students from less favorable home situations are more likely to feel worse, or to be bullied. It shouldn't be like that! It's important that everyone – regardless of background – learns, she says.
The National Agency for Education's conclusion is that efforts are still needed to ensure that all students are given the same chance to succeed in school.
It is obvious that this is necessary given the trend in results. Therefore, principals, school administrators and the state must ensure that experienced, skilled teachers are attracted to the schools where they are needed most, says Maria Axelsson.
Timss: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
Examines fourth and eighth graders' knowledge of mathematics and science. Conducted every four years, no later than 2023 (but results published in 2024).
In the new Timss survey, students who were tested in 2023 were followed up a year later. The follow-up is the first to be conducted.
Few countries (a total of eight others, no other Nordic country) participated in the study and therefore there is no relevant international average.
Responsible: research organization The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The Swedish National Agency for Education is responsible for the Swedish implementation.
Source: Swedish National Agency for Education
