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The Pilot Twelve-Country Study

1959–1962

The study was conducted in order to investigate the feasibility of undertaking more extensive investigations of educational achievement. Testing was carried out in the five areas of mathematics, reading comprehension, geography, science, and non-verbal ability.  The data were collected in 1959–1960.

Target Population

The target population was 13-year-old students. In some countries, the national sample was only partially representative.

Participating Educational Systems

Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany (FRG), Israel, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Yugoslavia.

Key Findings

  1. The variation between national means was small compared to the variability of scores within each of the participating countries but large enough to justify studies that sought to account for the differences between the countries. The smallest variation in achievement between countries occurred for reading comprehension and science and the largest for geography and mathematics.
  2. The gender differences were smallest in Sweden and Scotland and largest in Poland, Germany, and Belgium. In the United States, girls performed better than boys in all areas. In other countries, girls outperformed boys in reading comprehension, non-verbal ability, mathematics, and geography. In science, boys achieved better results than girls.
  3. The students from French-speaking countries (Belgium, France, and Switzerland) performed better in mathematics and geography than students from the English- speaking countries. The English-speaking countries (England, Scotland, and the United States) performed better in reading comprehension, science, and non-verbal ability.

Major Publications

 

Foshay, A.W., Thorndike, R.L., Hotyat, F., Pidgeon, D.A., & Walker, D.A. (1962).

Educational Achievement of Thirteen-Year-Olds in Twelve Countries.

Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Education.

 

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