Exhibit 4.12 presents the description of science achievement at the High International Benchmark. Eighth grade students reaching this level demonstrated conceptual understanding of topics related to biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science.

Exhibit 4.12.1 provides an example from the biology domain. Forty-eight percent of the eighth grade students, on average, were able to explain why increasing the number of gardens reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. With 85 percent success, Singapore had the highest percentage correct.

Exhibit 4.12.2 provides an example from the chemistry domain. In this item, students were asked to interpret the results of a science experiment shown in a diagram and provide evidence. Students in the Russian Federation were the most successful—69 percent correct. The international average was 39 percent.

A physics example is shown in Exhibit 4.12.3. Seventy-eight percent of the students in Chinese Taipei—by far the highest percentage correct—explained that you cannot hear a phone ring in a vacuum because there is no air. The international average was 38 percent.

Exhibit 4.12.4 provides an example from Earth science asking students to identify the shrinking size of polar ice caps as evidence that the Earth is becoming warmer. Chinese Taipei had the highest achievement with 87 percent correct, and 57 percent of eighth grade students internationally answered correctly, on average.