Wondering what country produces the best students in mathematics and science? The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has revealed that Singaporeans beat students from other nations in both subjects.

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Over 600,000 students from 57 nations, aged between 10 and 14, took the examination. The results revealed that both primary 4 and secondary 2 students from Singapore earned the highest scores in both subjects. The mean score of the primary 4 learners scored 618 in math followed by pupils from Hong Kong with 615 points. The top notchers scored 590 in science while the South Korean second runner up got a score of 589.

Meanwhile, secondary 2 pupils from Singapore got a score of 597 and 621 in science and math, respectively. The South Koreans placed second for math while Japanese students were the second best in Science. The top five performers in math were Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Russia. The United States and England were tied at the 23rd place for 7th grade math. U.S. 7th-graders ranked 13th in science. Meanwhile, primary school students from Northern Ireland were ranked the 6th place in math, making them the highest scorer among European nations.

The performance of students from England was reportedly above average. However, it has not improved despite efforts to resolve the country's stagnating ranking. The TIMSS showed that the U.K. fell by one place in primary school mathematics from 9th to 10th.

The Chief Executive of the Association for Science Education, Shaun Reason, said that the "results are quite encouraging, despite it being well known that teachers are stressed at the moment with higher workloads and a shortage of staff. There have been lots of structural changes to the sector which perhaps takes away from the need to focus on teaching quality rather than curriculum changes."

Reason added that despite the fact that the performance of students in science did not decline, better results might materialize if governments treat teachers as "proper professionals."  In Singapore, the Ministry of Education aims to "reinforce the holistic development of students" suggesting that education should not be just about getting the highest scores. Meanwhile, Finland which has an admired education model did not make it to the ranking.

The study was published by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).