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Digest of Education Statistics
2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 400. Average 8th-grade science scores by content areas, and average time spent studying out of school, by country: 1999

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                |           Average achievement scale score                                            |     Distribution of daily out-of-school study time
                                |                                                                                      |      in science, with mean science scores
            Country             |______________________________________________________________________________________|______________________________________________________________________
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |                       |                      |
                                |Overall   |Earth      |Life      |Physics   |Chemistry    |Environmental|Scientific   |No time                |Less than 1 hour      |1 hour or more
                                |science   |science    |science   |          |             |and resource |inquiry and  |_______________________|______________________|_______________________
                                |scores    |           |          |          |             |issues       |the nature   |Percent   |Mean        |Percent   |Mean       |Percent   |Mean
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |of science   |          |score       |          |score      |          |score
________________________________|__________|___________|__________|__________|_____________|_____________|_____________|__________|____________|__________|___________|__________|____________
               1                |    2     |    3      |    4     |    5     |      6      |     7       |     8       |     9    |    10      |    11    |    12     |    13    |    14
________________________________|__________|___________|__________|__________|_____________|_____________|_____________|__________|____________|__________|___________|__________|____________
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
  International average\1\ .....|488  (0.7)| 488  (0.9)|488  (0.7)|488  (0.9)|   488  (0.8)|   488  (0.7)|   488  (0.7)| 14  (0.2)| 462   (1.2)| 49  (0.2)| 495  (1.0)| 36  (0.2)| 486   (1.0)
                                |__________|___________|__________|__________|_____________|_____________|_____________|__________|____________|__________|___________|__________|____________
Australia ......................|540  (4.4)| 519  (6.1)|530  (4.4)|531  (6.3)|   520  (5.0)|   530  (6.3)|   535  (4.9)| 21  (1.4)| 510   (6.6)| 65  (1.4)| 553  (4.4)| 14  (0.8)| 533   (6.9)
Belgium (Flemish) ..............|535  (3.1)| 533  (3.5)|535  (4.6)|530  (3.5)|   508  (3.3)|   513  (3.5)|   526  (4.9)| 14  (1.1)| 537   (8.7)| 55  (1.2)| 543  (4.0)| 31  (1.4)| 520   (3.9)
Bulgaria .......................|518  (5.4)| 520  (5.7)|514  (6.9)|505  (5.8)|   527  (5.7)|   483  (6.4)|   479  (5.6)| 17  (1.6)| 505   (8.7)| 38  (1.2)| 523  (6.7)| 45  (1.5)| 528   (7.0)
Canada .........................|533  (2.1)| 519  (3.7)|523  (3.8)|521  (3.8)|   521  (5.4)|   521  (3.5)|   532  (5.1)| 20  (1.0)| 525   (4.1)| 62  (0.9)| 541  (2.3)| 18  (0.7)| 515   (4.4)
Chile ..........................|420  (3.7)| 435  (7.0)|431  (3.7)|428  (5.6)|   435  (5.2)|   449  (4.8)|   441  (4.7)| 17  (0.7)| 415   (4.9)| 53  (0.8)| 431  (4.7)| 30  (1.0)| 417   (5.4)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Chinese Taipei .................|569  (4.4)| 538  (3.0)|550  (3.3)|552  (3.9)|   563  (4.3)|   567  (4.0)|   540  (4.9)| 38  (1.3)| 530   (5.7)| 42  (0.9)| 588  (4.4)| 20  (0.9)| 607   (4.7)
Cyprus .........................|460  (2.4)| 459  (5.4)|468  (3.8)|459  (2.9)|   470  (3.4)|   475  (4.3)|   467  (4.6)| 18  (0.7)| 425   (6.6)| 57  (0.9)| 474  (3.1)| 25  (1.0)| 461   (5.0)
Czech Republic .................|539  (4.2)| 533  (6.9)|544  (4.1)|526  (4.2)|   512  (5.2)|   516  (5.7)|   522  (5.7)| 18  (1.1)| 529   (7.0)| 62  (1.2)| 546  (4.5)| 20  (1.1)| 530   (5.0)
England ........................|538  (4.8)| 525  (3.9)|533  (6.2)|528  (4.5)|   524  (5.5)|   518  (5.8)|   538  (5.1)|---   --- | ---    --- |---   --- | ---   --- |---   --- | ---    ---
Finland ........................|535  (3.5)| 520  (5.5)|520  (4.0)|520  (4.4)|   535  (4.5)|   514  (7.1)|   528  (4.0)|  8  (0.8)| 514   (9.7)| 84  (0.9)| 541  (3.5)|  8  (0.6)| 511  (10.8)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Hong Kong ......................|530  (3.7)| 506  (4.3)|516  (5.5)|523  (4.9)|   515  (5.2)|   518  (4.9)|   531  (2.8)| 39  (1.3)| 513   (4.2)| 48  (1.0)| 543  (4.0)| 13  (0.6)| 539   (6.6)
Hungary ........................|552  (3.7)| 560  (3.9)|535  (4.0)|543  (4.3)|   548  (4.7)|   501  (6.6)|   526  (5.9)|  6  (0.6)| 505   (8.6)| 49  (1.2)| 558  (4.0)| 45  (1.3)| 554   (4.0)
Indonesia ......................|435  (4.5)| 431  (6.4)|448  (3.6)|452  (5.5)|   425  (3.9)|   489  (4.8)|   446  (4.3)| 13  (0.8)| 432   (6.7)| 40  (0.9)| 442  (4.9)| 47  (1.1)| 435   (5.9)
Iran, Islamic Republic .........|448  (3.8)| 459  (5.2)|437  (3.7)|445  (5.7)|   487  (4.1)|   470  (5.5)|   446  (5.3)|  3  (0.3)| 432  (16.0)| 29  (1.0)| 453  (4.1)| 68  (1.1)| 451   (4.6)
Israel\2\ ......................|468  (4.9)| 472  (5.2)|463  (4.0)|484  (5.3)|   479  (4.7)|   458  (4.0)|   476  (8.3)| 17  (0.8)| 449   (7.8)| 60  (1.1)| 487  (4.6)| 23  (1.1)| 450   (6.5)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Italy ..........................|493  (3.9)| 502  (5.9)|488  (4.6)|480  (4.1)|   493  (4.8)|   491  (5.4)|   489  (4.6)|  7  (0.7)| 435   (8.6)| 48  (1.4)| 501  (4.3)| 45  (1.4)| 498   (4.3)
Japan ..........................|550  (2.2)| 533  (6.2)|534  (5.4)|544  (2.9)|   530  (3.1)|   506  (5.5)|   543  (2.8)| 39  (1.4)| 535   (3.2)| 50  (1.2)| 560  (2.3)| 12  (0.7)| 555   (7.5)
Jordan .........................|450  (3.8)| 446  (3.5)|448  (4.1)|459  (3.6)|   483  (5.5)|   476  (6.0)|   440  (5.5)|  7  (0.5)| 396   (9.2)| 37  (1.0)| 466  (5.0)| 56  (1.1)| 465   (3.7)
Korea, Republic of .............|549  (2.6)| 532  (2.7)|528  (3.6)|544  (5.1)|   523  (3.7)|   523  (4.5)|   545  (7.3)| 45  (0.8)| 527   (2.9)| 42  (0.7)| 564  (3.1)| 13  (0.6)| 578   (4.6)
Latvia (Latvian-speaking        |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
 schools)\2\ ...................|503  (4.8)| 495  (5.4)|509  (3.9)|495  (3.9)|   490  (3.7)|   493  (5.2)|   495  (4.7)|  9  (0.6)| 480   (9.9)| 66  (1.0)| 509  (5.4)| 25  (1.0)| 496   (6.3)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Lithuania\2\ ...................|488  (4.1)| 476  (4.4)|494  (4.6)|510  (4.3)|   485  (4.6)|   458  (5.1)|   483  (6.4)| 10  (0.9)| 456   (8.2)| 66  (1.2)| 493  (4.8)| 25  (1.2)| 494   (4.9)
Macedonia, Republic of .........|458  (5.2)| 464  (4.2)|468  (4.9)|463  (6.0)|   481  (6.1)|   432  (4.2)|   464  (3.6)|  3  (0.3)| 428  (15.3)| 25  (1.0)| 453  (5.9)| 72  (1.2)| 470   (5.3)
Malaysia .......................|492  (4.4)| 491  (4.2)|479  (5.4)|494  (4.1)|   485  (3.5)|   502  (4.4)|   488  (4.5)|  4  (0.3)| 460  (10.6)| 36  (1.1)| 493  (5.1)| 60  (1.2)| 495   (4.9)
Moldova ........................|459  (4.0)| 466  (4.2)|477  (3.9)|457  (5.5)|   451  (5.6)|   444  (6.2)|   471  (3.8)|  7  (0.6)| 439  (10.8)| 29  (1.0)| 460  (5.8)| 63  (1.2)| 467   (4.2)
Morocco ........................|323  (4.3)| 363  (3.3)|347  (2.8)|352  (4.2)|   372  (4.8)|   396  (5.1)|   391  (4.2)| 14  (0.8)| 323  (12.4)| 35  (1.2)| 330  (4.9)| 51  (1.7)| 335   (6.4)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Netherlands ....................|545  (6.9)| 534  (7.2)|536  (7.2)|537  (6.5)|   515  (6.4)|   526  (8.5)|   534  (6.5)|  6  (0.8)| 530  (11.6)| 80  (1.5)| 555  (6.4)| 15  (1.3)| 507  (12.9)
New Zealand ....................|510  (4.9)| 504  (5.8)|501  (5.6)|499  (4.7)|   503  (4.9)|   503  (5.2)|   521  (6.8)| 18  (1.1)| 472   (6.8)| 66  (1.2)| 528  (4.8)| 15  (1.0)| 491   (7.7)
Philippines ....................|345  (7.5)| 390  (5.0)|378  (5.7)|393  (6.3)|   394  (6.5)|   391  (7.6)|   403  (5.5)|  5  (0.4)| 294  (14.4)| 41  (0.8)| 365  (9.7)| 54  (0.9)| 348   (7.7)
Romania ........................|472  (5.8)| 475  (5.5)|475  (6.0)|465  (6.8)|   481  (6.1)|   473  (6.6)|   456  (5.5)| 16  (0.9)| 451   (8.4)| 36  (1.0)| 479  (7.8)| 48  (1.3)| 484   (5.6)
Russian Federation .............|529  (6.4)| 529  (5.1)|517  (6.5)|529  (6.3)|   523  (8.0)|   495  (6.6)|   491  (4.9)|  5  (0.4)| 494   (8.4)| 34  (1.3)| 534  (7.1)| 61  (1.3)| 536   (6.4)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Singapore ......................|568  (8.0)| 521  (7.3)|541  (7.2)|570  (6.7)|   545  (8.3)|   577  (8.3)|   550  (5.9)|  7  (0.6)| 507  (13.2)| 38  (1.1)| 573  (9.9)| 55  (1.2)| 573   (7.1)
Slovak Republic ................|535  (3.3)| 537  (4.3)|535  (6.2)|518  (4.1)|   525  (4.9)|   512  (4.5)|   507  (3.9)|  8  (0.7)| 521   (7.5)| 67  (1.2)| 539  (3.7)| 25  (1.2)| 532   (4.8)
Slovenia .......................|533  (3.2)| 541  (4.3)|521  (3.9)|525  (4.4)|   509  (5.4)|   519  (3.4)|   513  (4.3)| 10  (0.8)| 526   (6.7)| 52  (1.1)| 546  (3.7)| 38  (1.1)| 521   (4.2)
South Africa ...................|243  (7.8)| 348  (4.8)|289  (7.3)|308  (6.7)|   350  (4.0)|   350  (8.5)|   329  (6.4)| 15  (1.8)| 211  (14.0)| 39  (1.1)| 269 (11.1)| 47  (1.3)| 237   (8.7)
Thailand .......................|482  (4.0)| 470  (3.9)|508  (4.5)|475  (4.2)|   439  (4.3)|   507  (3.0)|   462  (4.2)|  8  (0.5)| 455   (4.8)| 50  (1.1)| 480  (4.8)| 42  (1.2)| 493   (5.2)
                                |          |           |          |          |             |             |             |          |            |          |           |          |
Tunisia ........................|430  (3.4)|442   (2.7)|441  (5.0)|425  (6.3)|   439  (3.7)|   462  (5.0)|   451  (3.4)| 13  (0.8)| 438   (8.2)| 39  (0.9)| 434  (5.3)| 48  (1.0)| 425   (2.8)
Turkey .........................|433  (4.3)|435   (4.6)|444  (4.5)|441  (4.0)|   437  (5.0)|   461  (3.6)|   445  (6.3)|  6  (0.5)| 409  (12.9)| 44  (0.9)| 433  (4.0)| 51  (1.2)| 444   (4.4)
United States ..................|515  (4.6)|504   (4.2)|520  (4.1)|498  (5.5)|   508  (4.8)|   509  (6.4)|   522  (4.3)| 24  (1.4)| 495   (6.4)| 60  (1.3)| 532  (4.6)| 16  (0.8)| 502   (5.9)
________________________________|__________|___________|__________|__________|_____________|_____________|_____________|__________|____________|__________|___________|__________|____________

---Not available.
\1\Data are for 8th grade or equivalent in most countries.
\2\Countries not meeting all International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's sampling specifications.

NOTE: Standard errors appear in parentheses. Because results are rounded to the nearest whole number some totals may appear inconsistent.

SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Third International Mathematics and Science Study 1999, TIMSS 1999 International Science Report, by Michael O. Martin et al. Copyright @ 2000. (This table was prepared June 2001.)


2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest