With the election of a new government in Bulgaria and the possibility of a concerted effort to bring good management to a country desperate to see exactly that, I put this page together to satisfy my own curiosity.

It sets out how Bulgaria has been performing in Science and Maths since 1995, at least according to the PISA and TIMSS data.

It's an understatement to say that the new government has a lot to do for Science and Maths education in Bulgaria. We expect Mrs Fandakova to be Education Minister, good luck to her. I think she'll need it!

Greaney V & T Kellghan 2008 Assessing National Achievement Levels in Education, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099079993288/assessing_national_achievement_level_Edu.pdf

Results for the 2003 grade 8 mathematics test (TIMSS) 476

Bulgaria 'significanly above international average' 467

Results for 2004 Reading Achievement in Grade 4

Bulgaria came second in the survey showing students reaching PIRLS Benchmarks

Gregory K 2006 A method for monitoring sub-trends in country-level mathematics achievement on TIMSS, International Education Journal, Shannon Research Press

http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/v7n2/Gregory/paper.pdf

Shows percentage of students below the International Mathematics Mean (500) in TIMSS 1995, 1999, 2003

1995 - 40.55 527

1999 - 43.91 511

2003 - 60.37 476

UNICEF Country Profile on Education in Bulgaria

As of 14th July 2009

http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Bulgaria.pdf

Gives performance of Bulgaria on the PISA 2006 in Participating Countries in the CEE/CIS Region.

Shows poor performance in comparison with countries in the region.

Education at a Glance 2008, OECD INDICATORS

http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_41266761_1_1_1_1,00.html

Parents’ reports of child’s past science reading and student performance on the PISA science scale (2006)

This chart shows the performance difference on the science scale between students.

Shows a marked difference in achievement when scores are differentiated according to student socio-economic background.

Generally poor results when parents asked about standards and quality of education, Bulgaria ranks worst in the table for parents satisfaction with reporting on student progress and monitoring of progress.

TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY

2007

TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center

Shows charts and countries for Mathematics and Science Achievement at the 8th Grade.

BG Maths 464/500

BG Science 470/500

TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY

2003

TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center

Shows summary of trends, improving or declining

Bulgaria shows poor results in both Maths and Science

Highlights From TIMSS 2007: Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourthand

Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context, December 2008

http://nces.ed.gov/Pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009001

Patrick Gonzales

Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics

Gives comparative analysis of US achievement, Bulgaria can be seen alongside this.

Shows Bulgaria with 63 point drop in Grade 8 Maths achievement between 1995 and 2007, the worst in the chart.