CANBERRA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Australian students' performance in mathematics, science and reading have fallen to record lows, an international study has found.
According to the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, a study of more than half a million 15-year-old students around from 79 countries and regions, Australia ranks 16th in reading, 17th in science and 29th in maths.
It found that Australian students are 3.5 years behind their counterparts from the Chinese mainland in maths, three years behind in science and 1.5 years behind in reading.
Responding to the report, Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan admitted the findings were disappointing and should have "alarm bells ringing."
"Our school systems also need to de-clutter their curriculums and get back to basics," he said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday.
The report is expected to dominate discussions at a meeting between Tehan and state and territory education ministers in the Northern Territory (NT) later in December.
It found that maths performance has declined in all states and territories.
Tanya Plibersek, the opposition Labor Party's education spokesperson, accused the government of failing to address Australia's steady decline.
"This is a national problem, it needs a national approach and we need to make sure that we're working together to teach the basics well, lift entry standards into teaching, give schools the support they need," she said.
"If our kids can't read, write and do maths and science, then we've failed."
"Those subjects are the building blocks of a good education."
