Nearly a fourth of Pathom 3 graduates have failed this year's national arithmetic test, the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) revealed yesterday.
Up to 523,469 students sat for the test after successfully completing the Pathom 3 level in the last academic year. Obec said these results prove that standards needed to be improved in many state schools.
"Of the Pathom 3 graduates, 22.29 per cent failed their arithmetic test," Obec secretary-general Chinnapat Bhumirat said yesterday, adding that the results were unsatisfactory even though the percentage of failing students had dropped slightly from 25.29 per cent last year.
According to Chinnapat, the percentage of illiterate students had also dropped to 7.72 per cent from 8.82 per cent a year before.
"However, the number of students who are unable to write is still pretty much the same," he added.
Chinnapat said the issue would be raised at a two-day meeting attended by all 185 directors of educational offices next month. "We will require all offices to draw up a plan on how to solve the problem of illiterate students and their inability to do simple calculations," he said.