Washington state students rank in the top 10 for math and science when compared with their counterparts in other countries, according to a new batch of test scores.
Washington's eighth graders tested better than the national average in both subjects. And scores here are higher than those in Ontario, Canada; Hungary, and Australia.
"If you stack Washington up against other countries, we came in at eighth in math and ninth in science," said Kristen Jaudon of the state office of superintendent of public instruction.
The score comparisons come from two exams administered to Washington students in 2011, the National Assessment of Educational Programs and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The exams are typically used to measure how schools perform compared to schools across the country.
But for the first time, individual state scores were compared to the results from exams taken in 38 countries and nine regions.
Korea tops the international charts in math, and Singapore in science, according to results from the Institute of Education Sciences.
Within the U.S., Massachusetts tops the charts for both math and science. Washington state ranks 18th in math and 21st in science.
The superintendent's office says it will be interesting to see how Washington students score down the road once more rigorous science and math standards—both Common Core and the Next Generation of Science Standards—are phased in.
