Singapore maths adds up for educators around the world | Mathematics - The Straits Times

Fifty Secrets Of Singapore's Success

A new Straits Times Press book launched last week, Fifty Secrets Of Singapore's Success, has 50 essays on various aspects of the nation that have gained acclaim over the years. This essay by Senior Education Correspondent Sandra Davie recounts how Singapore's maths has made a mark globally. 

The curriculum, teaching approach and textbooks developed by Singapore's Ministry of Education have helped make schoolchildren here world beaters in maths, an achievement recounted in a new book.
PHOTOS: KHALID BABA, ST PRESS

The irony will not be lost on British educators. In 2019, Singapore commemorated the 200th year since Sir Stamford Raffles arrived on its shores. As the former colony reflected on what it inherited from Britain, schools there have joined more than 50 education systems around the world in adopting Singapore-style mathematics.

Little Singapore first started to draw a lot of attention when it came out tops among 37 countries, including Britain and the United States, in the 1995 and 1999 rankings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

In the US, some like parents Jeffery Thomas and his Singaporean wife, Dawn, began importing Singapore textbooks to supplement their daughter's public schooling, and for other parents who were homeschooling their children. When a handful of schools also started asking for the books, the couple, based in Portland, Oregon, set up Singapore Math Inc in 1998 to import the books...

In the UK, the Inspire Maths series of textbooks, adapted from the Singapore books, were trialled in 70 primary schools by the Department for Education in 2015 and 2016. Independent research conducted by the Oxford University Department of Education in 2016 found that British schoolchildren made more progress in maths when teachers used Singapore-style methods. Teachers reported that the programme could boost children's motivation and engagement, and the evaluation found that it could be used creatively and flexibly.
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Source: The Straits Times