Chemistry Achievement among Grade 12 Students in Australia and the United States

Chemistry achievement at the senior high school level was investigated in two different countries in which the same achievement test had been administered. The study involved secondary analysis of data collected from random samples of 1,177 Australian and 537 American senior high school chemistry students involved in the Second International Science Study. Of eight chemistry content areas, Australian students were superior to American students in all areas except theoretical and organic chemistry. Whereas American students did worst on questions dealing with oxidation-reduction and nuclear chemistry. Australian students performed worst on items on organic and nuclear chemistry. The difference between Australian and American students was greater for numerical than for verbal items.