Pupils at Copenhagen public schools suck at mathematics

New report shows they are worse than last year and lag behind the national average

Nov 28, 2014

Pupils at the capital's public schools are the worst at mathematics in the country.

Furthermore, their results are showing no signs of improvement. Last year, the pupils scored 6.1 on average, but this summer, they only scored 5.7 – a full grade worse than the national average of 6.4.

Simply unacceptable
"It is surprising there has been such a huge setback in just one year," Jens Thorsen, the chairman of the School and Parents Association in Copenhagen, told Politiken.

Thorsen said he was tremendously unhappy with the results, calling the situation "unacceptable".

"Although it was a turbulent period that included a lockout and a major reform, it should not have made such an impact on the pupils," noted Thorsen.

Similarly, Pia Allerslev, the deputy mayor for children and youth, called the schools' performance "really disappointing".

School reform will help
However, Frank Jensen, the city's mayor, does not want to jump to conclusions based on a one-year's comparison.

He believes the school reform will help improve the schools' results eventually.

More teachers from the capital are, for instance, attending the so-called summer universities to benefit from further education and learn about new teaching methods.

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