Israeli students' lag in scientific thinking will affect the elections

A PISA study reveals that only 36% of Israeli students demonstrate scientific thinking, placing Israel 51st out of 91 countries. The largest group, 41%, exhibits intuitive thinking, relying on gut feelings. Since 2015, the decline in scientific thinking quality is among the steepest globally. The score gap between scientific and pseudo-scientific thinkers is equivalent to five years of schooling.

The latest PISA study reveals that only 36% of Israeli students demonstrate scientific thinking, placing Israel 51st out of 91 countries, far below the average. The study, which examined 9th and 10th graders, identified four thinking styles: scientific, intuitive, pseudo-scientific, and dogmatic. In Israel, the largest group is intuitive thinkers (41%), who recognize the importance of science but draw conclusions based on gut feelings. The proportion of students in the two lowest thinking groups (22.9%) is similar to that in the most落后的 countries. The article notes a 12% decline in the quality of scientific thinking since 2015, one of the steepest globally. A score gap of over 100 points between scientific and pseudo-scientific thinkers is equivalent to five years of schooling. Scientific thinkers scored 515 in science and 513 in reading comprehension, while pseudo-scientific and dogmatic thinkers scored around 400, indicating a failure in reading comprehension. The article warns that the lack of scientific thinking impairs the ability to deal with false information and demagoguery, endangering democracy.