English teachers are much more bogged down by admin than their international counterparts, a new survey has found.
The government has published a second research report detailing England’s performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
The first report, published last year, revealed that year 5 and 9 pupils in England had seen improvements in their science attainment and “high” maths results “maintained” in 2023.
The new report digs into more detail on the findings. Here are 8 things school leaders need to know …
1. Gender gap widens as boys pull ahead …
Boys’ performance in maths and science has jumped “significantly” above that of girls – with the year 9 maths gap in England the largest of any country taking part.
The findings “signal an urgent need to assess why a gender gap of this kind has re-emerged over time in England, especially given the large-scale initiatives in place to address this in mathematics and science”, researchers warned.
2. … and confidence seems to be a key issue
Pupils’ confidence in their ability was the “most strongly associated” attitudinal factor associated with performance, the report found. Other factors analysed included instructional clarity, valuing the subject and liking the subject.
Girls were “significantly less confident and liked the subject less [than boys] in both year groups and for both subjects”.
However, in “contrast to the 2019 cycle where their lack of confidence was not accompanied by significantly different performance, in 2023 girls were also outperformed by their male peers”.
Overall, boys demonstrated “more interest in further study of both subjects beyond secondary school and in careers that might include some aspects of mathematics or science”.
This suggests a need to “review how future study and employment related to mathematics and science are communicated, particularly to girls, to ensure the related sectors are attractive”.
3. The 3 key school factors linked to high performance …
There were three factors “most strongly associated” with performance, the same as in 2019. They are:
- Heads who reported their schools placed “an emphasis on academic success” had a “significantly positive” association with performance
- Pupils reporting “disorderly behaviour in school” had a “significantly negative association” with performance (meaning the “less pupils were adversely impacted, the higher their performance”)
- Pupils who experienced bullying behaviour in schools also had a “significantly negative association” with performance
4. … ‘belonging’ plays important role, too
There was a “significant positive association between pupils agreeing that they felt a greater sense of school belonging and higher average” scores across both subjects, and in both year groups.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has talked about the importance of pupils feeling “they belong” in school. Belonging has also emerged as a key factor for boosting attendance rates.
In 2022, PISA reported that just two-thirds of UK pupils felt they belonged at school – below the 75 per cent OECD average.
5. Less experienced teacher? It doesn’t seem to make much difference …
Nearly half of England’s year 5 maths pupils were taught by a teacher with fewer than 10 years’ experience – which is above the international average.
Meanwhile, the proportion of pupils taught by teachers with more than 20 years’ experience was below the international average. The same finding applied to science, and year 9 maths.
However, there was no “significant difference” in average scores for “different levels of teacher experience”, the report found.
6. … as newbie teachers seem to get better
When looking at year 9, most kids were taught maths by teachers with at least 10, but fewer than 20 years’ experience.
However, the report found there was “no significant difference between the average score for pupils taught by teachers with 20 or more years’ experience, compared with those taught by teachers with fewer than 5 years’ experience”.
This was also “in contrast” to 2019, where pupils taught by teachers with 20 or more years’ experience had an average score of 55 scale points more.
7. Cut the red tape! Make teachers teach again!
Teachers were asked whether certain issues affected them. Having “too many administrative tasks” appeared to be a particular issue for English teachers.
In year 5, 86 per cent of teachers in England said they were affected by this, compared to just 63 per cent internationally. In year 9, the gap was even bigger: 83 per cent affected in England compared to just 53 per cent internationally.
Year 5 teachers were also more likely than their international counterparts to say they were affected by “too much material” and “need more time to prepare”.
Perhaps a worrying finding for Professor Becky Francis and her curriculum review is that 59 per cent of England’s year 5 teachers said they already had “difficulty keeping up with curriculum changes”, compared to just 42 per cent internationally. However this wasn’t an issue at secondary.
One area England’s teachers were less fussed about was having “too many students” – 59 per cent compared to 71 per cent of international teachers.
The TIMSS researchers concluded that “staff in schools in England are committed and highly experienced individuals who are challenged by complex needs in their classrooms and who would benefit from fewer administrative tasks and more time to prepare for teaching”.
8. Kids in schools doing 3-year maths GCSEs do better
The proportion of schools starting GCSEs in year 9 appeared to drop after Ofsted started downgrading them – saying this was a sign of curriculum being narrowed.
But in year 9, two-fifths of maths pupils were in schools that had three-year GCSEs. And their average score was “significantly higher” than those who didn’t.
However, more pupils were taught science in schools that started GCSE provision in year 9 (59 per cent). But their average score was not significantly different.
