Irish Examiner view: Top marks for maths, but we need innovators too

It is wonderful and justified to celebrate the report that Irish students are the EU’s top performers in maths at primary and secondary levels.

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss), based on data gathered last year from more than 600,000 students in 64 countries, found little significant change in Ireland since 2015 and that Irish students continue to perform at a relatively high level. 

No significant gender differences were found as boys and girls did equally well in maths and science tests.

However, our very best students under-perform compared to pupils in other highly-ranked educational systems. 

We lag behind several East Asian countries like Singapore, China, Taiwan, Korea, or Japan.

The overall picture is encouraging but the caveat around high performers must be addressed as they are destined to be the innovators who will, in time, secure our economic and social future in this rapidly changing world. 

Is our well-intentioned aversion to elitism counter productive?