Study: Students in the Caucasus and Central Asia have low problem-solving skills

Math and science skills among elementary and middle school students across the Caucasus and Central Asia are lagging, according to an international study of trends over the past three decades.

The study, undertaken by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) center at BostonCollege, reflects the results of computer-based assessments of fourth- and eighth-grade students conducted in 64 countries in 2023.

The three Caucasus states – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – along with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were included in the most recent TIMSS study.

The cumulative scores of Armenian fourth graders ranked the highest among students from the Caucasus and Central Asia in math skills. Even so, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan ranked only in the intermediate skill level, the third of four levels of proficiency behind advanced and high performers. Uzbek fourth-grader math skills were in the low category, meaning students are proficient only in the most basic of tasks, such as performing computations with three-digit whole numbers.

When it comes to eighth-grader math skills, only Azerbaijan managed to land the intermediate category Students from other Caucasus and Central Asian states were all ranked in the low-skill category.

The rankings in science for all countries in the two regions, for both fourth and eighth grades, were dismal. For both grades, the five regional states ranked in the low-skill category.