Wales again ranked lowest of the UK countries in terms of reading, maths and science ability.
Incidentally, this was well ahead of Scotland which came 18th and 16th in maths and science respectively.
Mr Andrews announced reforms after international assessments for reading, maths and science showed Welsh teenagers were falling behind.
BBC: Leighton Andrews outlines reforms for schools standards
It will buy textbooks for 16, 000 primary schools in the key subjects of Kiswahili, English, Maths and Science.
Alan Brown, director of education, said he was pleased with the results, which represented English, Maths and Science.
"We teach English, maths and science to all students because they are fundamental to understanding society, " she said.
In the English, maths and science tests, 67%, 76% and 87% of them achieved at least the expected level.
In 1997 America scored pathetic marks in an international maths and science test.
First, the international comparison of standards in maths and science (TIMSS) showed that England is indeed doing very well.
It also raised concerns about introducing English Baccalaureate certificates in English, maths and science while still running "discredited" GCSEs for other subjects.
Then the results for each subject, ENGLISH, MATHS and SCIENCE are reported, again with comparison bars - the best being 100%.
BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Guide to the primary school tables
America was 17th in reading and even lower in maths and science.
ECONOMIST: The contest with China moves into the classroom and nursery
EBCs in English, maths and science are due to be introduced in autumn 2015, with the first exams being taken in 2017.
Compiled by researchers in the US, the Timss study is an important benchmark for comparing standards in maths and science around the world.
Timms, which analyses performance in maths and science at ages nine to 10 and 13-14, and Pirls which looks at reading among 10-year-olds.
The DfE said the numbers of teachers holding degree-level qualifications in the key subjects of English, maths and science has risen compared to 2011.
When IBM's master inventor Mandy Chessell was at school, she said she had "missed the memo which said that girls don't do maths and science".
Its report, whose publication Lord Adonis had called for, involved independent consultants reviewing syllabuses, question papers and marking schemes in English, French, maths and science.
The introduction of the National Curriculum in the 1980s meant that all young people studied English, Maths and Science up to the age of 16.
It compared scores of 13-year-olds in maths and science tests, calibrating the scores so that a mark of 500 was equal to the international average.
First Florida started grading its schools from A to F, based on the proficiency and progress of pupils in annual reading, writing, maths and science tests.
Under plans announced earlier this year, students due to begin GCSE courses in 2015 will instead sit EBC exams in some subjects (English, maths and science)in 2017.
Another advocate of reform is Sir Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, a biomedical charity, who led a recent official review of maths and science education.
ECONOMIST: Reform is mooted as exam grades seem to rise inexorably
In subjects such as English and history, the exams will test essay writing, while in maths and science there will be a greater focus on quantitative problem solving.
Partly because Mr Asmal's inept predecessor pensioned off thousands of the country's best teachers, there is an aching shortage of maths and science teachers, and of effective principals.
It is also easier to abandon gender stereotypes: girls in all-girl schools are more likely to study maths and science, boys in all-boy schools become more involved in theatre.
Ministers say the curriculum will be slimmed down, but there will be "detailed programmes of study" for English, maths and science that will set out the "core knowledge" expected.
In maths and science boys and girls perform much the same at primary school, but at age 15 boys do rather better than girls in maths (though not science).
Earlier this year, the president of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers, sparked controversy when he suggested at a seminar that one reason men outperformed women in maths and science was genetics.
BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | 'Men cleverer than women' claim
And in Plowden's day, there was nothing like the Third International Maths and Science Study, published in 1996, which compared the abilities of more than 500, 000 pupils in 26 countries.
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