ABSTRACT
Internationally, Indonesian education has not performed well, as can be seen in the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. In mathematics, Indonesian eighth graders were ranked 36 out of 47 countries, whereas in science, they were similarly ranked at 35 out of the 47 total participating countries (Martin, Mullis, & Foy, 2008, p. 38). A more recent report by the Program for International Student Assessment in 2009 showed also low performance in Indonesian educational outcomes in three important areas, i.e., literacy, numeracy, and science. Amongst the 65 participating countries, Indonesian students were only ranked 53rd for reading proficiency, 59th in mathematics, and 58th in science, with a score of 383 (OECD, 2010). Indonesia’s performance in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study is comparable with performances by Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Mongolia, Syria, and Yemen, which all have a similar national gross income per capita (Suryadarma, 2011). Of the three Southeast Asian participating countries – Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand – however, Indonesia was the lowest performing country, whereas Singapore demonstrated excellent performance across the three areas.
