VOA慢速：中国学生问鼎PISA2018

燕山大学 刘立军 编写

【TRANSCRIPT】

Students from China and Singapore came out on top in an international survey of educational achievement.

Results of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, were released Tuesday. The test is given every three years to 15-year-olds around the world. It measures their knowledge in reading, science and mathematics.

The best-performing students in all three subjects were in China. They attend schools in and around Beijing and Shanghai, and two provinces: Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Singapore finished in fifth place in the study.

Overall, the test results show American students scoring above average in reading and science, but below average in math.

The test is administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Officials reported that about 600,000 students in 79 nations and educational systems took part in the two-hour computer-based exam last year. They said schools in each country are chosen randomly to make sure that students come from a wide mix of backgrounds and abilities.

PISA is the largest measure of international education performance. The test scores are watched closely by education policy makers.

Here are some of the PISA findings:

The average U.S. scores have not changed in a major way in any of the three subjects since 2015. The U.S. scores are mostly unchanged since when the test was first given in 2000 for reading and, in 2003, for math. American science scores have risen since 2006.

Out of the 79 areas, only seven have seen an improvement in their PISA scores since they started offering the test. The seven are Albania, Colombia, Macau, Moldova, Peru, Portugal and Qatar.

The OECD is a group of 36 mostly industrial countries, including the United States. Financing - the amount of money spent on education is important, but not always necessary for high test scores. Take Estonia, for example. It was one of the top scoring countries, yet education spending there is 30 percent below the OECD average.

With reading being the main focus of the test this year, one of every four students in OECD countries could not complete basic reading tasks.

On average across the OECD countries, one in 10 disadvantaged students was able to score in the top quarter of the reading performance of their country.

The U.S. results showed that the highest performing students were doing better in reading and math, while the lower-performing students did not improve.

This is similar to results from another nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

"It's another red flag that this is something to think about," said Peggy Carr, the associate commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics. She noted that the United States is "clearly struggling in math."

What is not clear about the group of Chinese students tested is whether they represent all Chinese students. Carr noted that the four test areas are home to more wealthy people than China as a whole.

The Chinese areas displaced the top school system in the 2015 PISA, the Asian city-state of Singapore.

Tom Loveless, an educational researcher from California, said the Chinese provinces that were tested saw a substantial increase in their scores. He said China is the only country where the national government chooses the provinces that are tested.

"It still makes it very difficult to interpret the Chinese scores," he said.

Loveless describes the overall performance of American students as mediocre.

"The U.S. is basically doing what it's done since PISA started, which is hanging around the middle" of the group," he said.

Andreas Schleicher is Director for the OECD's Directorate of Education and Skills. He said there is hope for countries where there is not much difference in the performance of students from wealthy and poor backgrounds. Education, he says, remains a way for poor children in some countries to be successful.

【VOCABULARY】

1. PISA n. PISA是国际学生评估项目的缩写(Program for International Student Assessment，PISA)  ,是经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development，OECD)成员共同开发的项目，其目的是测试15岁学生是否掌握了参与未来知识社会所必需的基础知识与基本技能。

2. OECD n. 经济合作与发展组织 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development，OECD)，简称经合组织，是由36个市场经济国家组成的政府间国际经济组织，旨在共同应对全球化带来的经济、社会和政府治理等方面的挑战，并把握全球化带来的机遇。总部设在巴黎。

3. mediocre adj. (disapproving) not very good; of only average standard 平庸的；普通的；平常的。例如：a mediocre musician / talent / performance平庸的音乐家 / 才能 / 表演

【QUESTIONS】

TASK I

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

1. Who was on top in the 2018 PISA test?

A. Students from China and Singapore. 

B. Students from China and America. 

C. Students from China and Albania.  

D. Students from China and Colombia.

2. What does PISA measure?

A. It measures knowledge in reading, science and physics.

B. It measures knowledge in reading, science and mathematics.

C. It measures knowledge in reading, science and chemistry.

D. It measures knowledge in reading, science and philosophy.

TASK II

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the staments are true or false.

Here are some of the PISA findings:

q 1. The average U.S. scores have not changed in a major way in any of the three subjects since 2015. 

q 2. Out of the 79 areas, only seventeen have seen an improvement in their PISA scores since they started offering the test. 

q 3. The OECD is a group of 36 mostly industrial countries, including the United States. 

q 4. Financing, the amount of money spent on education, is important, always necessary for high test scores. 

q 5. With mathematics being the main focus of the test this year, one of every four students in OECD countries could not complete basic mathematics tasks.

q 6. On average across the OECD countries, one in 10 disadvantaged students was able to score in the top quarter of the reading performance of their country.

q 7. The U.S. results showed that the highest performing students were doing better in reading and science, while the lower-performing students did not improve. 

q 8. What is not clear about the group of Chinese students tested is whether they represent all Chinese students. 

q 9. Loveless describes the overall performance of American students as mediocre.

q 10. Education remains a way for poor children in some countries to be successful.

【KEY】

TASK I

1. A。细节题。命题出处：Students from China and Singapore came out on top in an international survey of educational achievement.

2. B。细节题。命题出处：Results of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, were released Tuesday. The test is given every three years to 15-year-olds around the world. It measures their knowledge in reading, science and mathematics.

TASK II

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the staments are true or false.

Here are some of the PISA findings:

þ 1. The average U.S. scores have not changed in a major way in any of the three subjects since 2015. 

ý 2. Out of the 79 areas, only seventeen have seen an improvement in their PISA scores since they started offering the test. (正确表达) Out of the 79 areas, only seven have seen an improvement in their PISA scores since they started offering the test. 

þ 3. The OECD is a group of 36 mostly industrial countries, including the United States. 

ý 4. Financing, the amount of money spent on education, is important, always necessary for high test scores. (正确表达) Financing, the amount of money spent on education, is important, but not always necessary for high test scores. 

ý 5. With mathematics being the main focus of the test this year, one of every four students in OECD countries could not complete basic mathematics tasks. (正确表达) With reading being the main focus of the test this year, one of every four students in OECD countries could not complete basic reading tasks.

þ 6. On average across the OECD countries, one in 10 disadvantaged students was able to score in the top quarter of the reading performance of their country.

ý 7. The U.S. results showed that the highest performing students were doing better in reading and science, while the lower-performing students did not improve. (正确表达) The U.S. results showed that the highest performing students were doing better in reading and math, while the lower-performing students did not improve. 

þ 8. What is not clear about the group of Chinese students tested is whether they represent all Chinese students. 

þ 9. Loveless describes the overall performance of American students as mediocre.

þ 10. Education remains a way for poor children in some countries to be successful.