Improving Education Quality in Thailand Five Stylized Facts Kevin Macdonald, World Bank

TIMSS Math Performance

TIMSS Intermediate Math Benchmark Students who achieve the international benchmark can apply basic mathematical knowledge in straightforward situations.

Intermediate Benchmark Attainment Percentage of students attaining the TIMSS Math intermediate benchmark

Thailand Attainment Number of Students 10 percent increase in number of grade 8 students

Thailand Attainment Number of Students 45 percent of students in 1999 attained the intermediate math benchmark

Thailand Attainment Number of Students 34 percent of students in 2007 attained the intermediate math benchmark

Thailand Attainment Number of Students 17 percent decrease in the number of grade 8 students who attained the intermediate math benchmark.

Five Stylized Facts 1.17 percent fewer grade 8 students in Thailand attained the intermediate math benchmark from 1999 to 2007, and the quality of education, not enrolment, is to blame.

Wealth Group Differences PISA Reading Achievement for below median wealth group PISA Reading Achievement for above median wealth group

Urban Rural Distribution Differences Distribution of PISA Achievement

Urban Rural Distribution Differences Distribution of PISA Achievement

Five Stylized Facts 1.17 percent fewer grade 8 students in Thailand attained the intermediate math benchmark from 1999 to 2007, and the quality of education, not enrolment, is to blame. 2.There are large gaps in achievement between rich and poor and urban and rural peoples in Thailand. Thailand has an education system as good as that in the United States, but so far only in Bangkok.

Urban Rural Differences Total The difference in PISA 2006 reading performance between urban and rural areas is points

Urban Rural Differences points owe to differences in student background characteristics points owe to differences in the lower ability of rural schools to transform student characteristics into learning Total

Five Stylized Facts 1.17 percent fewer grade 8 students in Thailand attained the intermediate math benchmark from 1999 to 2007, and the quality of education, not enrolment, is to blame. 2.There are large gaps in achievement between rich and poor and urban and rural peoples in Thailand. Thailand has an education system as good as that in the United States, but so far only in Bangkok. 3.If the education system in rural areas were able to convert student background into learning as well as the education system in urban areas, the urban-rural difference in learning outcomes would be small.

Top Performers Percent Increase in Number of Grade 8 Students Attaining the Math Intermediate Benchmark.

Importance of Improving Quality Attributed to changes in the proportion of grade 8 students achieving the intermediate math benchmark Attributed to changes in the number of grade 8 students

Importance of Improving Quality Attributed to changes in the proportion of grade 8 students achieving the intermediate math benchmark Attributed to changes in the number of grade 8 students

Importance of Improving Quality Attributed to changes in the proportion of grade 8 students achieving the intermediate math benchmark Attributed to changes in the number of grade 8 students

Five Stylized Facts 1.17 percent fewer grade 8 students in Thailand attained the intermediate math benchmark from 1999 to 2007, and the quality of education, not enrolment, is to blame. 2.There are large gaps in achievement between rich and poor and urban and rural peoples in Thailand. Thailand has an education system as good as that in the United States, but so far only in Bangkok. 3.If the education system in rural areas were able to convert student background into learning as well as the education system in urban areas, the urban-rural difference in learning outcomes would be small. 4.Improvements in the quality of education were crucial to almost all top performing countries. For the Top Improving Countries

Top Improvers Percent Increase in Number of Grade 8 Students Attaining the Math Intermediate Benchmark.

Importance of Reaching the Disadvantaged Contribution by rural areas Contribution by urban areas

Importance of Reaching the Disadvantaged Contribution by rural areas Contribution by urban areas

Five Stylized Facts 1.17 percent fewer grade 8 students in Thailand attained the intermediate math benchmark from 1999 to 2007, and the quality of education, not enrolment, is to blame. 2.There are large gaps in achievement between rich and poor and urban and rural peoples in Thailand. Thailand has an education system as good as that in the United States, but so far only in Bangkok. 3.If the education system in rural areas were able to convert student background into learning as well as the education system in urban areas, the urban-rural difference in learning outcomes would be small. 4.Improvements in the quality of education were crucial to almost all top performing countries. 5.Rural areas contributed significant portions of the increases in students achieving the benchmark for most of the top performing countries. For the Top Improving Countries

Implications Improving the quality of education is crucial to improving learning output in Thailand Thailand knows how to have an education system as good as a high income country since it already exists in Bangkok. The problem is expanding it outside Bangkok. Any discussion on improving learning output in Thailand would include targeting disadvantaged populations including the poor and those in rural areas.

TIMSS United States2,294,799 2Japan1,001,308 3Russia877,924 4Korea614,195 5Indonesia563,946 6England401,723 7Turkey358,817 8Italy295,725 9Thailand275,708 10Taiwan264,648 Top 10 Producers of Grade 8 Students Attaining the TIMSS Intermediate Math Benchmark

Thank You! Kevin Macdonald, World Bank