Korean students excel at math despite lower teacher numeracy: OECD

According to the data, around the world, higher teacher numeracy -- the ability to understand and work with numbers -- typically translated to better student outcomes. But for Korea, students excelled in mathematics despite teachers with a college degree having comparatively lower numeracy scores.

An OECD paper titled "Do Top-Performing Countries Recruit Their Teachers from Among Top Graduates?" showed that countries with lower teacher numeracy scores -- such as Lithuania, Israel, Latvia and Italy (scoring 255–275 on the PIAAC scale) -- reported some of the lowest student math scores, ranging from 450 to 500 on PISA, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment.

In contrast, teachers in Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Finland scored higher (315–325) and produced strong student results, with PISA math scores ranging from 484 to 508.

However, Korea defied this trend. Korean teachers ranked 26th out of 31 countries, with an average numeracy score of 274 -- but for 15-year-olds, Korean students achieved an average score of 527 on the PISA math assessment, placing them third globally behind Singapore and Japan.

The OECD highlighted that Korea’s high student scores in math, despite relatively lower teacher numeracy, suggest other factors contribute to student performance in Korea.

One professor of education who asked to remain anonymous attributes this aspect to Korea’s intensive education system, which emphasizes discipline, high expectations and widespread private tutoring. A deeply ingrained culture of valuing education, where families heavily invest in academic achievement, also plays a crucial role. Additionally, the centralised and standardized national curriculum ensures that the same materials are used across all schools, they said.

The OECD also stressed that countries must "think harder about making teaching a well-respected profession and a more attractive career choice both intellectually and financially" to attract the brightest candidates, as low standards of entry in teaching could lead to lower-quality teaching and schools.

Choi Jeong-yoon

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network