Thai students score less than half by average in ONET exam

[Get Real]

14 minutes ago, thaichiro said:

That’s DISCIPLINE

Eeeeh??? Like to elaborate to make a small amount of sense? 

[ChrisY1]

So...if the students havn't learnt and all got under 50%, then the teachers havn't taught!.....easy to assume that the teachers are useless!

But in reality, the entire education system here has flunked repeatedly for decades.

The elite would be quite pleased!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Out of 72 participating countries and economies, Thailand averaged better than about 21% of all participants - basically Thailand was bested by four-fifths of the participants.

Curiously, Thailand did much better than Indonesia.

 

It's worth noting, the OECD PISA 2015 test results that were linked here and discussed were not a broad assessment of student learning and knowledge, but rather, in the case of the 2015 test, specifically focused on science. And it looks like the prior 2012 PISA test focused instead on math, which may create issues for comparing overall test results cycle to cycle, since the same test isn't being used each 3-year cycle. Doesn't mean the results don't have meaning. But does mean they shouldn't be extrapolated to overall educational accomplishment.

 

 

A breakdown of results by educational field probably would be more useful in making comparisons:

 

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/04/07/what-international-test-scores-reveal-about-american-education/

 

If the above chart and its results are correct, the U.S. actually did pretty well, just in terms of raw rankings (not in terms of where a country like the U.S. SHOULD place), in the reading and science fields, but got smoked in the math field, probably by a lot of Asian nations.

 

It would be interesting to see the same kind of breakdown by educational field for Thailand's 2015 PISA results.

Edited April 3, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Expatthailover]

5 hours ago, AYJAYDEE said:

no different in western nations

 

Nice to see some balance in this thread.

Spot on post my friend

[Expatthailover]

13 minutes ago, Get Real said:

Eeeeh??? Like to elaborate to make a small amount of sense? 

A little bit ironic to have an alleged native English speaker banging on about falling education standards in Thailand eg English language proficiency , and who then blames on a lack of a quality that said poster is unable to spell.

It is discipline not disciplin.

I did notice the issue myself but didn't mention it for fear of being labelled grammar police etc.

My post is to explain what has transpired

[AYJAYDEE]

7 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

I'm not sure if God will help in a Buddhist country. Anyway help could come only from inside. To know the inability of Thai students have to force the authorities to change their system. Unfortunately they do not ask other ASEAN countries for help as Singapore or Hongkong......(don't think even they would dream of asking farangs...)

Thai students can get jobs only in Thailand. it's a shame actually that trained teachers end up as noodle vendors. A waste of time. Unfortunately the students are not protesting against this inefficient education system but try to forge results and diplomas for no good.

only in thailand??!! lol.

 

[greenchair]

4 hours ago, YouYouYou said:

Blame the teachers, blame the parents, blame how society is today with all our gadgets. But is could just be as simple that the tests are unrealistic given the benchmark ....just sayin.

My son went to a project based learning school. 70 % of the score was from projects only 30 % from tests. I was surprised to see children  (all the wealthy ones or with parents of influence ) receiving GPA of 3.93/3.95.

My son passed in the top 3 science, math, eng, thai in every test yet his GPA was always 3.8/3.5.

The wealthy thought their children were off to a top school. 

When the real tests were given, they failed at every level. They were not able to pass onet higher than 2.97. 

My son recieved overall onet 3.50 .with 4 in 2 subjects. 

He passed entrance test at every top school and went on to win 1st in the final round. He recieved a full scholarship. 

Many of the rich tried to pay their way in with their fake inflated GPA and could not. 

I feel those parents were cheated by the teachers and they had no clue that their child could barely manage a basic sum. 

No testing and telling kids to do projects by themselves is great for teachers that don't want to be accountable. 

[Expatthailover]

3 hours ago, greenchair said:

The western nations are not failing in every subject in abysmal proportions. 

Especially in the subjects of science, math and their own language. 

I prefer to stay with the topic at hand, which is focused on thailand. 

But your previous comment that prompted the reply that has irked you, could only be based on you comparing what you allege you know to be true from a previous place you lived, and what you suggest you know about Thailand and its system of education.

 

[JAG]

The M6 ONET examination is taken at the end of the pupils time at school. As such it attempts to assess a wide variety of intelligence levels, capabilities and interest levels. It is a fairly (very) blunt tool. It is a bit like asking all 18 year old in the UK to sit three "A levels" (effectively a university entrance qualification) when they leave school, and then wondering why the average grade is a fail.

 

There will be many reasons for these low scores. Poor teaching perhaps, poor parenting perhaps, badly written examinations I would say certainly. Many 16, 17 and 18 year old routinely absent themselves from lessons, they simply don't want to go to school. Just walk around any shopping centre in daytime and look at the numbers of teenagers in school uniform hanging out. Don't forget it only takes two or three in a class of 30 getting 10% to bring the average right down.

[Expatthailover]

1 hour ago, CanterbrigianBangkoker said:

In my opinion, this is to be expected. The standards of education in Thailand are pretty damn poor and we all know it. There are of course some decent schools, but they usually come with a very hefty bill at the end of each term. To be fair however, I'll say this, the private, but very affordable Thai school that my daughter attends, seems to be well organised, well maintained and competent. She is still only very young, so it's hard to judge solely on the scholastic merits of materials used by a 5 year old, but from what I've seen, it isn't too bad, an effort is being made at least. That being said, having taught adults (in a few cases actual university lecturers/professors) in the past, I can testify as to the utter lack of general knowledge and more specifically lack of knowledge/understanding of world affairs / the wider world outside of Thailand demonstrated by many. But again, in the interest of being balanced, can those of us from the West really claim our societies are very different these days? I think you could argue that the Thai youth are more respectful to their elders/peers and authority than their European/American counterparts. :-)

great post

[MrJohnson]

It is a complex problem that will require a complex solution. Just a few ideas as s starter.

 

Better qualified teachers - trained well in their discipline (Math, History, Geography etc.) and trained to teach as well.

Adopt a different teaching pedaagogy (style) that is based on analysis and critical thinking - ditch the reproductive mode of teaching learning - otherwise known as Rote learning.

Change the curriculum and adopt a model that integrates subjects together rather than placing them in silos.

Eliminate the (widespread) practice of interrupting schedules at the whim of school management

Adopt a system of meritocracy in schools rather than patronage

 

Less marching and more reading.

 

 

 

 

 

[sawadee1947]

7 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

So...if the students havn't learnt and all got under 50%, then the teachers havn't taught!.....easy to assume that the teachers are useless!

But in reality, the entire education system here has flunked repeatedly for decades.

The elite would be quite pleased!

then the teachers havn't taught!

 

probably they can only teach what have been taught.....and that is around 50%

[pauleddy]

Samui is spot on, but this old chestnut goes on and on. I taught for 13 years at famous BKK universities. Cheating is still rife. Laziness, and awarding As, happens every day. A Thai teacher friend does not even bother to check the internet for plagiarism now, because it was using up 7 hours a week to do it for every essay. I have had bits of MA and PhD theses copied and sent to me.

 

Money to buy new laptops just "vanishes". The Thai teachers who select the coursebooks have no clue. The Thai teachers who write 100b textbooks used in Rajabhats are morons. Even the CUTEP has mistakes in it, every year.

 

The education minister is moved sideways every 9 months unless 30 million baht is found under his bed, which happened 4-5 years ago.

 

Properly trained teachers, not backpackers, might help. Ending rote learning is a start (run, ran, run).

 

Supervision and inspection by "superteacher" NES might help. But really, I pull my hair out, because the rot is endemic and goes back at least 50 years.

[dinsdale]

I think you'll find more than half the students (especially in the English exam) didn't even understand the questions. These tests are full of mistakes, sometimes with more than one correct answer (multiple choice). Two levels at my school P6 and M3 were taken out of ALL classes for the entirety of January to study for this nonsense. Standardised tests do not work. In the second term I saw one of my M3 classes only 4 times. Yep! That's four classes for the whole of the second term.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's some more illustrative indicator's for Thailand's 2015 PISA performance, below average in each of the three main categories. And the second graph of Thailand's share of top performers is really scary:

 

 

 

http://www.compareyourcountry.org/pisa/country/THA?lg=en

 

 

[Get Real]

34 minutes ago, Expatthailover said:

A little bit ironic to have an alleged native English speaker banging on about falling education standards in Thailand eg English language proficiency , and who then blames on a lack of a quality that said poster is unable to spell.

It is discipline not disciplin.

I did notice the issue myself but didn't mention it for fear of being labelled grammar police etc.

My post is to explain what has transpired

Thank you so much, I feel much better now. 

[Krataiboy]

18 minutes ago, MrJohnson said:

It is a complex problem that will require a complex solution. Just a few ideas as s starter.

 

Better qualified teachers - trained well in their discipline (Math, History, Geography etc.) and trained to teach as well.

Adopt a different teaching pedaagogy (style) that is based on analysis and critical thinking - ditch the reproductive mode of teaching learning - otherwise known as Rote learning.

Change the curriculum and adopt a model that integrates subjects together rather than placing them in silos.

Eliminate the (widespread) practice of interrupting schedules at the whim of school management

Adopt a system of meritocracy in schools rather than patronage

 

Less marching and more reading.

 

 

 

 

 

Eminently sensible and practicable ideas - which means we'll probably never see them implemented here.

[MrJohnson]

Just now, Krataiboy said:

Eminently sensible and practicable ideas - which means we'll probably never see them implemented here.

Sadly, I think you are probably right!

[anon4637435435]

 

How can people learn if their is a steady stream of pollution eating at their brain cells?

Why is nothing done about pollution? Perhaps to keep people dum.

[lvr181]

1 hour ago, CanterbrigianBangkoker said:

I think you could argue that the Thai youth are more respectful to their elders/peers and authority than their European/American counterparts. :-)

And that is exactly what feudal leaders want along with a low education level so that the citizens cannot reason about why society could/should change for the betterment of ALL and not just for the elite and powerful! 

[geriatrickid]

5 hours ago, YouYouYou said:

Blame the teachers, blame the parents, blame how society is today with all our gadgets. But is could just be as simple that the tests are unrealistic given the benchmark ....just sayin.

And you are correct. The tests measures the ability to take that specific test and much depends on the questions asked on the test. What I want to know is if the students have the ability to apply whatever skills they were taught. 

[thhMan]

I wonder how many of those that failed where males?

 

I have 2 daughters that are in school here and the biggest complaint they have is that the boys disrupt class....

[Eligius]

It is so obvious: ill-educating the Thais is DELIBERATE!  It is what the conscienceless Powers that Be want here. It is simply inconceivable that an education ministry, which gets more money than almost any equivalent ministry in the world (relative to population and per capita income), CONSISTENTLY, decade after decade, churns out such utterly ill-educated people.

 

It's all going according to plan. Keep the masses stupid.

 

That's why the Thais care more about soap operas than about what REALLY affects their actual lives - the total, ongoing loss of rights and liberty. But if you've never been educated to know what human rights are - then you don't particularly miss them when they are withheld from you.

 

The MIS-education is thus working a treat. 'Keep those peasants stupid' is the guiding principle of Thai 'education'  - and then the Thais will still cheer and wai and smile and bend over backwards when Prayut marches into their village, and they will get the nice flowers ready to present to him, and kneel down to be patted on the head. Don't they just love it?!

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Eligius

[Cereal]

No matter how you slice this up, it's a disgrace.

[greenchair]

3 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

But your previous comment that prompted the reply that has irked you, could only be based on you comparing what you allege you know to be true from a previous place you lived, and what you suggest you know about Thailand and its system of education.

 

Focus please. 

[Lucky mike]

8 hours ago, greenchair said:

My son is fine. He passed in every subject. From the 49 kids split between 2 classes, only 3 passed. He did not attend a cram school because we could not afford it. But we did things differently to other parents. 

1. No telephone games. 

2. Sleep before 9 o'clock. 

3. We studied half an everyday at home. 

4. We studied together during holidays. 

5. Healthy home cooked food. 

6. We played a lot of boardgames. 

So basically, I spent a lot of time with my son. 

All the children that passed have a similar routine to the above. 

 

We used to call that responsible parenting  ! Maybe it will make a comeback ?

[greenchair]

1 hour ago, thhMan said:

I wonder how many of those that failed where males?

 

I have 2 daughters that are in school here and the biggest complaint they have is that the boys disrupt class....

You have to get them into the gifted classes. 

The children are much better behaved. 

There are only limited seats at every school. 

If you can't get in those classes, you must get all your education outside. 

[greenchair]

5 minutes ago, Lucky mike said:

We used to call that responsible parenting  ! Maybe it will make a comeback ?

I told all the parents. Never mind they said. 

We don't care about scores they said. 

We're rich they said. 

Their money had absolutely no advantage over the poor child that studied. 

Their child's dreams were decimated, and at 18 are tied to the whims of their parents money forever more. 

[Cake Monster]

The children failing miserably at the core subjects does not bode well for the future of Thailand as a Country.

 

These children are the Nations future, and along with the attitude  " we do things the Thai way " and the sheer arrogance of many adults who are the peers to these kids, and Thailand will not advance as a Nation in the next 100 years.

 

Its very sad really, as there are so many people with a great deal of talent in this Country, but for the reasons above, will never be given a chance to prove their potential.

[Lingba]

13 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Sooooooo

 

The average Thai student failed in every subject at school.

 

There is a simple equation for the benefit of education in a country; if a country has a good education system, it will have a good future (whatever that may be). if a country does not have a good education system, then it will not have a good future.

 

Again; the average Thai student failed in every subject at school.

 

God help Thailand.

 

I couldn't agree more however IMO..those who currently have a strangle hold on maintaining their power rankings in this country certainly don't want educated people as that could throw a wrench in their plans...If you have an educated populace, you have challenge,,,better to have dumb sheeple doing what they are told..Unfortunately this won't change anytime soon unless there becomes an awareness and a revolt