TIMSS & Feminism

Not only do 12th graders in countries like Korea, Japan, and Switzerland score much higher than US 12th graders (183, 181, & 123 TIMSS points respectively), but they also spend less as a percent of GDP for education (3.9%, 4.9%, & 4.8% vs. 6.8% in the US). The fact that they also have a higher percentage of high school teachers who are males (48%, 56%, & 87% vs. 25% in the US, per the UN Statistical Yearbook, 37th Issue, page 116) just cannot be ignored as a possible factor, particularly when the profound consequences are carefully considered.

It is true that all of these are very different cultures, and that these cultural differences have a big impact on education quality. Nobody can deny, though, that the ultimate manifestation of these differences is reflected in some very different attitudes about education. Clearly, a country whose high school teachers are 87% males just cannot have the same attitude about education as a country whose high school teachers are only 25% males. What is different? Feminism--which has been a very destructive force in both the US and worldwide.

Country or State	12th Grade TIMSS Geometry Score	% Male HS Teachers (1)	Cost of Education as % GDP	% 8th Grade Math Teachers Who Are Men
Switzerland	547	87	5.63	86.6
Netherlands (1)	541	72	5.51	78
Japan (1)	605	71	4.86	71.5
Germany	487	59	6.14	67.1
Spain (5)	470	53	5.42	62.9
Iceland (1)	487	71	5.87	61.3
New Zealand (1)	508	56	6.01	57.6
France	544	43	6.27	56.5
Australia	496	52	6.49	55.6
Korea (1) (3)	607	68	5.75	54.6
Austria	462	45	5.57	51.8
Belgium (1)	565	60	5.65	48.6
Ireland (1)	527	50	6.15	42.8
US 1995 Avg	424	25	6.92	35
Hungary (1)	537	60	6.79	13.5

The role feminism played in undermining education quality cannot be ignored. One of feminism's tenets is that males and females are "equal". In addtion to this notion being repugnant to the 85% of North Americans who are Christians, it is undisputed that the lowering of standards in the futile attempt to "narrow the gender gap" also undermined the educations of millions of American students, male and female. The cost of destroying the educational opportunities of an entire generation of Americans just cannot be measured.

All of the feminized countries (the US, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Norway, Russia, and the former Soviet Bloc countries) have the same problem with poor education quality coupled with high costs, which makes feminism a very expensive proposition. These countries are also the ones with the highest percentage of female high school teachers. Most of the non-feminized countries (China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, and Thailand) spend less than 5% of GDP for education and score more than 100 points higher than the US. Most of the non-feminized countries are also the ones with the highest percentage of male teachers.

How much did feminism cost? About as much as good math skills are worth. That we would be spending $160 billion per year less for education if our education costs were equivalent to the Swiss makes it imperative to isolate feminism as a factor. At least three separate countries around the world have each proven independently of each other that it is at least possible to have much higher education quality while spending $160 billion less each year. The international data shows that savings as a percent of GDP Increase 1% for each 4 point increase in TIMSS Scores [Table20_1.htm and "Bottom Line"]. A 100 point increase in TIMSS scores thus could increase the US gross savings rate from 15% to 40%--higher than Japan and Korea and lower than Singapore. This would add $2 trillion per year to Personal Savings which right now are in the negative. There are few reasons to believe that increasing the nation's overall math skills by 100 TIMSS points would not also increase GDP by more than $2.4 trillion.