Korean middle school students world`s 2nd best in math

Korean middle school students rank second in the world in math, a 1999 international survey showed.Korean second-year middle school students received 587 points on average in the 1999 scholastic aptitude test in math, second only to Singaporean students who topped the list of 39 countries with 604 points.

Third place went to Taiwanese students, who scored 585, followed by Hong Kong students (582) and Japanese students (579). The world average in math was 487 points.

In science, Korean students also ranked in the top ten along with Taiwanese, Singaporean, Hungarian and Japanese students.

The test was conducted by Boston College in the U.S. and an international association in charge of evaluating the scholastic achievements of students.