AKIPRESS.COM - Australian students have plummeted in the latest international maths and science rankings with such countries as Kazakhstan, Cyprus and Slovenia showing better results than Aussies for the past four years, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science study, released on Tuesday, shows Australia dropping from 18th to 28th out of 49 countries in year 4 mathematics.

Australia fell from 12th to 17th in year 8 maths and from 12th to 17th in year 8 science while remaining steady at 25th place in year 4 science.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the disappointing results would form a key part of discussions with the states and territories about school funding for 2018 onwards.

The 630,000-strong study as been conducted every four years since 1995.

While Australia's results have flatlined since 2007, high-performing countries such as Singapore and South Korea continue to pull ahead. Meanwhile countries such as Canada and England have improved their results and now outperform Australia.