Reading results, especially for non-Swiss students, improve sharply since
The start of a Pisa study mathematics question for 15-year-olds
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss students age 15 are among the world’s elite when it comes to mathematics, the latest Pisa study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) shows. The average score of 534 is well above those of European countries, and 24 percent of Swiss students achieved the top two marks, 5 and 6, compared to the OECD average of 13 percent.
At the other end of the scale, only 14 percent of Swiss students are considered weak in mathematics, having failed to achieve level 2, compared to an OECD average of 22 percent. The world’s best mathematics students: Shanghai-China (600), Singapore (562), Hong Kong-China (555), Korea (546), Chinese Taipai (543). The first non-Asian country for mathematics is Finland, followed closely by Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Clear overall rankings are not part of the Pisa results: OECD countries are ranked, but not “partner economies” such as Shanghai-China region, which had the highest scores in all three areas. Remarkably, 14.6 percent of students in Shanghai-China and 12.3 percent of students in Singapore attained the highest levels of proficiency in all three subjects, compared to only 4.1 percent of the total group tested. The Pisa study also asssesses educational equity, the size of the gaps between best- and worst-performing students, and gender differences.
The Pisa (Programme international pour le suivi des acquis des élèves) research has been carried out every three years since 2000 by the OECD. The goal is to measure how well students are equipped for the future. Students are tested in mathematics, science and reading each time, but one of the three is selected each year for in-depth testing and research. The 2009 theme was reading. Seventy-five countries and OECD “partner economies” took part in the 2009 Pisa research of which 34 are OECD member countries. The first study in 2000 had 31 participating countries/economies.
Overall mean scores put Switzerland in top 15 OECD countries
The mean scores provide an indication of where a country sits in international comparisons. The Pisa executive summary to the 2009 report, issued 7 December, notes for the overall results in mathematics, science and reading, the three areas where students are tested:
“Korea and Finland are the highest performing OECD countries, with mean scores of 539 and 536 points, respectively. However, the partner economy Shanghai-China outperforms them by a significant margin, with a mean score of 556. top-performing countries or economies in reading literacy include Hong Kong-China (with a mean score of 533), Singapore (526), Canada (524), New Zealand (521), Japan (520) and Australia (515). The Netherlands (508), Belgium (506), Norway (503), Estonia (501), Switzerland (501), Poland (500), Iceland (500) and Liechtenstein (499) also perform above the OECD mean score of 494, while the United States, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Portugal, and partner economy Chinese Taipei have scores close to the OECD mean.
Reading results up strongly in Switzerland, better than neighbours’
Mathematical invention part of the future shrinking of our electronic devices
EPFL infograph, Pascal Coderey, 2010
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – EPFL is boasting its 1,000th invention 3 November, with the official arrival of Kandou, a new system based on mathematics whose daunting task is to try to reduce the world’s computer electricity consumption, currently 150 billion kWh per year, which translates into a monthly bill of several billion dollars. The university is boldly predicting that Kandou “could equip most of our electronic systems within a few years.”
Kandou is the 1,000th invention to arrive in the university’s Service of Industrial Relations. It was invented by Harm Cronie and Amin Shokrollahi of the EPFL algorithm laboratory and in a nutshell “enables processors to communicate more rapidly—while using less energy—with their peripherals”: memory, printers, monitors, an EPFL press release notes. The system has already sparked strong interest from large companies in the computer field, it adds.
Most electronic appliances today use ultra-rapid processors that communicate with other processors or other peripherals by using electronic buses, a kind of information highways.
Professor Stanislav Smirnov of Unige wins Fields medal
India and Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – A professor at the University of Geneva, Unige, is among four scientist awarded the top mathematics prize in the world: the Fields Medal.
Stanislav Smirnov, 40, received the award for proving two fundamental conjectures in statistical physics. Specifically, the 2010 Fields medal was given to Smirnov for the “proof of conformal invariance of percolation and the planar Ising model in statistical physics.”
The award was presented to Smirnov on 19 August, opening day of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, India.
According to the description of his work given during the ceremony, Smirnov “gave elegant proofs of two long-standing, fundamental conjectures in statistical physics, finding surprising symmetries in mathematical models of physical phenomena.”
The mathematician was born in St Petersburg and after attending university in Russia moved to the United States to pursue his doctoral degrees. He has been a Professor at Unige since 2003.
Title: Expanding your Horizons: nurturing girls’ interest in science, technology, mathematics and science
Link out: Click here
Description: First European conference inviting 400 11-13 year old girls from public and private schools to nurture interest in the sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 14 Nov 2009
End Time: 16:00
Sponsored by the Geneva Women in International Trade (GWIT)
A day of hands-on workshops and speakers with women who excel in the non-traditonal fields for girls who show an interest.
Register on-line on the Expanding your Horizons site, further information on the event at expandingyourhorizons@gwit.ch
Title: Jardin des maths (mathematical gardens)
Location: Geneva, Conservatoire and Botanical Gardens
Description: Discover mathematics through the patterns in nature and plants
Start Date: 31 May 2008
End Date: 12 Oct 2008
