国际经合组织(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ,OECD)最近的评定中学生(16到19岁)读写和数学能力的报告中,英格兰学生读写排名23数学排名第22,在23个发达国家中毫无悬念的垫底。以此对照,退休年龄的英国人在排名榜中名列前茅。
Young people in England are the most illiterate in the developed world and are floundering in maths, according to a global ranking. Hundreds of millions of pounds is wasted on tuition fees for students who graduate with only a basic grasp of English and maths, an in-depth analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found. It warned that many were too low-skilled to earn above the threshold to start repaying their loans. The OECD report rated English teenagers aged 16 to 19 the worst of 23 developed nations in literacy and 22nd of 23 in numeracy. In contrast, pensioners or those close to retirement were among the highest-ranked…
英国以前是教语法的,但后来改革不教了。是不是需要教语法?这个问题有待讨论。当年改革的时候的思想是,内容比形式重要,说的什么东西比怎么说的重要。现在其实和当年的情况也一样,英国要发展创意产业,创新和发明(Creativity and innovation)是教育的目标,这种思想指导下读写和数学的考试成绩就没那么重要了。