'Worrying' decline in maths skills

TEENAGERS in France are getting worse at mathematics, with a bigger gap growing between the best and worst performers, new research has found.

Some 8,000 15-year-olds' maths skills were tested out in more than 300 collèges by Cedre, the national education body that evaluates academic performance trends by discipline once every six years.

They were tested on their ability to solve problems, their knowledge of mathematical definitions and their reasoning and researchers said the results were "worrying".

Nearly 20% of teenagers fell into the bracket called "poor or very poor" - only able to solve basic problems normally given to older primary school pupils - up from 15% when the study was last carried out in 2008.

The "excellent" group remains stable at 9.5%.

Research leader Catherine Moisan said: "The social divide is growing. Secondary schools know how to help the best pupils succeed - but the results for everyone else are getting worse. Our challenge is to improve everyone's performance, including those who are from the least privileged backgrounds."

The results back up the findings of an international Pisa study in 2012 which looked at academic performance in 65 OECD countries. France came 25th.