研究紀要／學術評論：國際視角解析臺灣中學生數學表現的跨年趨勢

Research Notes/ Scholarly Commentaries: Trends in Mathematics Performance Among Taiwanese Secondary School Students in an International Context

2012年之後，臺灣的國中生與高中生經歷了一波數學表現的下滑。首先觀察到的跌落點是在2015年，之後在2018年創下新低。然而，根據2019年與2022年的國際數學評量結果，臺灣中學生的數學表現從低谷回升，成績僅次於新加坡，或與之並列各國之首。本研究目的在解析數學表現這種U字型止跌回升的戲劇性轉折，對數學表現的跨年趨勢做多面向的細部剖析，並考量趨勢變化與教育政策變革的關係。研究發現，學生背景特質的跨年改變，不能解釋數學表現的下跌。不過，在2022年的PISA評量中，發現學生家庭社經背景的提升，有助於解釋數學表現的回升。數學表現的下跌發生在2014年國中會考實施之後，也就是各科考試成績被大幅化約為七個標示之後。而帶動數學表現回升的那幾屆學生，擺脫了會考新計分方式的可能負面影響，且他們所接受的數學課綱在課程內容上較具有連貫性。

Secondary school students in Taiwan have experienced a decline in mathematics performance since 2012. A significant decrease was first observed in 2015, and by 2018, student performance had reached a record low. However, international mathematics assessments conducted in 2019 and 2022 have showed a recovery, with the performance of high school students in Taiwan reaching a level equivalent to, or close to, that of Singapore, the top-performing country. The purpose of this research is to analyze this U-turn in mathematics performance and to propose a number of policy related explanations. Findings show that changes in student characteristics across survey years do not account for the decline, but in one case, do partially account for the rebound. Notably, the decline occurred after 2014 when the senior high school entrance examination was modified from a norm-referenced, to a criterion-referenced, examination in which test scores in each tested subject were reduced to merely seven ranks. The higher-performing student cohorts that contributed to an upward trend after the decline overcame possibly negative influences of the new grading system, and were subject to more coherent curricular guidelines in learning mathematics.