A British education researcher is causing a stir with his report indicating that U.K. children are getting a lot less sharp than they were 30 years ago.
In a study submitted last month to the Economic and Social Research Council, psychologist Michael Shayer of King's College London reports that performance by children of both sexes has plummeted on a test that involves perceptions of weight and volume. Shayer compared the 1976 performance of 2350 11- and 12-year-olds in a representative sample of British schools with that of students from the years 2001-04. "An 11-year-old today is performing at the level an 8- or 9-year-old was performing at 30 years ago," he concludes. In 2004, only 5.7% of boys could equal scores made by the top third in 1976.
The test features questions such as whether the volume of water stays the same when it is poured into different shaped vessels. Psychologist Jim Ridgway of Durham University, U.K., calls it a "fairly robust indicator of cognitive development." Shayer blames the falling scores partly on computer games. Children, especially boys, are playing more in virtual worlds instead of "outdoors, with tools and things," he says.
Durham education researcher Peter Tymms calls the findings "something to be worried about," but says they need confirmation as they are belied by rises in IQ and other test scores.
