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Digest of Education Statistics
2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 394. Average eighth-grade mathematics scores, by content areas, index of time students spend doing mathematics homework in a normal school week, and country: 2003
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                            |                                                            |  Index of time students spend doing mathematics homework 
                            |             Average score by content area                  |                 (TMH) in a normal school week
                            |____________________________________________________________|___________________________________________________________
                            |  Mathe-|         |          |        |           |         |   High TMH\6\     |   Medium TMH\7\   |     Low TMH\8\
                            |  matics|         |          |Measure-|           |         |___________________|___________________|___________________
Country                     | overall|Number\1\|Algebra\2\| ment\3\|Geometry\4\|  Data\5\| Percent|Mean score| Percent|Mean score| Percent|Mean score
____________________________|________|_________|__________|________|___________|_________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________
1                           |       2|        3|         4|       5|          6|        7|       8|         9|      10|        11|      12|       13
____________________________|________|_________|__________|________|___________|_________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________
   International average\9\ |467(0.5)|467 (0.5)|467  (0.5)|467(0.5)|467   (0.5)|467 (0.5)| 26(0.2)|468  (0.8)| 54(0.2)|  471(0.6)| 19(0.2)|456  (1.0)
                            |________|_________|__________|________|___________|_________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________
Armenia ....................|478(3.0)|473 (3.1)|489  (2.6)|488(3.3)|481   (3.1)|419 (2.7)| 35(1.3)|490  (3.9)| 60(1.2)|  478(3.7)|  4(0.4)|475  (7.5)
Australia ..................|505(4.6)|498 (4.6)|499  (4.4)|511(4.3)|491   (4.8)|531 (3.8)| 19(1.6)|520  (6.0)| 50(1.5)|  509(5.4)| 31(2.0)|497  (5.5)
Bahrain ....................|401(1.7)|380 (1.9)|411  (2.5)|388(2.1)|438   (2.1)|414 (2.1)| 18(0.8)|387  (3.3)| 69(1.2)|  409(2.0)| 13(1.1)|398  (4.9)
Belgium (Flemish) ..........|537(2.8)|539 (2.7)|523  (2.8)|535(2.5)|527   (3.1)|546 (2.9)| 13(1.1)|542  (4.5)| 42(1.4)|  546(3.2)| 44(2.0)|532  (3.7)
Botswana ...................|366(2.6)|382 (2.2)|377  (2.7)|377(2.0)|335   (3.9)|375 (2.7)| 25(0.8)|385  (3.9)| 53(0.8)|  368(2.6)| 22(0.9)|355  (3.0)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Bulgaria ...................|476(4.3)|477 (4.1)|481  (4.0)|473(4.6)|484   (4.5)|458 (3.9)| 33(1.8)|482  (6.4)| 54(1.5)|  478(4.6)| 14(1.5)|469  (5.4)
Chile ......................|387(3.3)|390 (3.1)|384  (3.1)|404(2.9)|378   (3.3)|412 (3.4)| 10(0.7)|387  (6.9)| 43(1.0)|  389(3.8)| 47(1.4)|388  (3.7)
Chinese Taipei .............|585(4.6)|585 (4.6)|585  (4.9)|574(4.4)|588   (5.1)|568 (3.4)| 18(1.5)|611  (6.0)| 45(1.2)|  594(4.4)| 37(2.0)|563  (5.6)
Cyprus .....................|459(1.7)|464 (1.5)|455  (1.7)|459(2.2)|457   (2.4)|458 (1.7)| 21(0.8)|459  (2.8)| 70(0.7)|  469(1.8)|  9(0.6)|438  (5.3)
Egypt ......................|406(3.5)|421 (3.0)|408  (3.9)|401(3.3)|408   (3.6)|393 (3.2)| 26(0.8)|402  (4.3)| 60(1.0)|  418(3.6)| 14(0.7)|419  (4.7)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
England\10\ ................| ‡  (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡    (†) | ‡  (†) | ‡     (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡  (†) | ‡    (†) | ‡  (†) |   ‡  (†) | ‡  (†) | ‡    (†)
Estonia ....................|531(3.0)|523 (3.1)|528  (2.6)|528(3.0)|540   (2.6)|535 (2.8)| 28(1.3)|519  (4.0)| 66(1.3)|  538(3.2)|  7(1.2)|523 (10.3)
Ghana ......................|276(4.7)|289 (5.1)|288  (4.8)|262(3.7)|278   (4.3)|293 (4.1)| 24(0.9)|288  (5.8)| 56(0.9)|  280(4.5)| 20(1.0)|275  (7.5)
Hong Kong, SAR\11,12\ ......|586(3.3)|586 (3.2)|580  (3.2)|584(3.3)|588   (3.6)|566 (3.0)| 32(1.9)|600  (3.5)| 49(1.5)|  587(3.6)| 19(1.5)|566  (7.6)
Hungary ....................|529(3.2)|529 (3.6)|534  (3.1)|525(3.1)|515   (3.1)|526 (2.9)| 20(1.2)|516  (5.8)| 77(1.2)|  537(3.1)|  3(0.5)|501 (14.1)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Indonesia\13\ ..............|411(4.8)|421 (4.6)|418  (4.5)|394(4.9)|413   (4.6)|418 (4.0)| 37(1.1)|435  (4.3)| 48(0.8)|  406(5.3)| 15(0.8)|391  (7.3)
Iran, Islamic Republic .....|411(2.4)|416 (2.3)|412  (3.1)|399(2.6)|437   (3.1)|404 (2.6)| 24(1.2)|420  (3.8)| 52(0.9)|  414(2.8)| 25(1.1)|403  (3.4)
Israel\14\ .................|496(3.4)|504 (3.3)|498  (3.2)|480(3.4)|488   (3.7)|492 (3.3)| 33(1.4)|498  (3.9)| 55(1.3)|  505(4.1)| 12(0.9)|479  (6.3)
Italy ......................|484(3.2)|480 (3.2)|477  (3.4)|500(3.2)|469   (3.5)|490 (3.0)| 54(1.4)|484  (3.8)| 40(1.1)|  487(3.6)|  7(0.7)|471  (8.0)
Japan ......................|570(2.1)|557 (2.3)|568  (2.0)|559(2.0)|587   (2.1)|573 (1.9)|  6(0.7)|565 (10.1)| 36(1.5)|  566(2.8)| 58(1.9)|576  (2.1)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Jordan .....................|424(4.1)|413 (4.4)|434  (4.4)|418(4.4)|446   (4.0)|430 (3.5)| 25(0.8)|425  (4.7)| 64(1.1)|  437(4.1)| 11(0.9)|411  (4.9)
Korea, Republic of\15\ .....|589(2.2)|586 (2.1)|597  (2.2)|577(2.0)|598   (2.6)|569 (2.0)| 11(1.0)|582  (4.3)| 46(1.6)|  592(2.6)| 43(2.0)|590  (2.8)
Latvia .....................|508(3.2)|507 (3.2)|508  (3.2)|500(3.0)|515   (3.3)|506 (3.8)| 33(1.3)|502  (4.7)| 61(1.3)|  516(3.0)|  6(0.7)|508  (9.3)
Lebanon ....................|433(3.1)|430 (3.3)|448  (3.1)|430(3.7)|459   (3.0)|394 (4.0)| 42(1.7)|436  (3.5)| 52(1.7)|  437(3.5)|  5(0.6)|412  (7.6)
Lithuania\13\ ..............|502(2.5)|500 (2.7)|501  (2.4)|492(3.0)|506   (2.5)|502 (2.5)| 32(1.4)|493  (3.1)| 63(1.3)|  509(3.0)|  5(0.8)|490  (8.7)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Macedonia, Republic of\14\ .|435(3.5)|438 (3.5)|442  (3.6)|434(3.6)|442   (3.7)|419 (3.6)| 26(1.1)|440  (4.5)| 61(1.3)|  444(3.9)| 13(1.3)|439  (6.0)
Malaysia ...................|508(4.1)|524 (4.0)|495  (3.9)|504(4.5)|495   (4.8)|505 (3.2)| 33(1.3)|515  (4.4)| 56(1.1)|  510(4.5)| 11(0.8)|485  (5.9)
Moldova ....................|460(4.0)|463 (3.8)|464  (4.2)|468(4.0)|463   (4.7)|428 (3.4)| 38(1.4)|472  (4.3)| 57(1.3)|  458(4.6)|  5(0.5)|437  (8.3)
Morocco\13,16,17\ ..........|387(2.5)|384 (2.7)|400  (2.8)|376(3.4)|415   (2.3)|374 (2.5)| 34(1.5)|390  (4.5)| 52(1.1)|  392(3.2)| 14(1.0)|380  (4.8)
Netherlands\11\ ............|536(3.8)|539 (3.6)|514  (4.0)|549(3.7)|513   (4.1)|560 (3.1)| 19(1.3)|540  (5.2)| 62(1.4)|  542(4.4)| 19(1.7)|518  (6.5)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
New Zealand ................|494(5.3)|481 (6.0)|490  (5.2)|500(4.8)|488   (4.6)|526 (5.1)| 14(1.1)|488  (5.1)| 49(1.8)|  505(6.0)| 37(2.1)|492  (7.2)
Norway .....................|461(2.5)|456 (2.3)|428  (2.7)|481(2.9)|461   (2.8)|498 (2.5)| 26(1.3)|454  (4.0)| 52(1.3)|  466(2.5)| 22(1.3)|472  (3.5)
Palestinian National        |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
   Authority ...............|390(3.1)|385 (3.6)|392  (3.5)|386(2.8)|423   (3.1)|390 (2.8)| 27(1.1)|393  (3.5)| 65(1.1)|  398(3.5)|  8(0.6)|371  (6.6)
Philippines ................|378(5.2)|393 (5.1)|400  (5.2)|372(4.8)|344   (5.3)|390 (4.5)| 24(0.9)|390  (5.4)| 54(1.0)|  382(5.5)| 22(1.2)|361  (6.6)
Romania ....................|475(4.8)|474 (4.9)|480  (4.7)|485(4.7)|476   (4.9)|445 (4.6)| 68(1.6)|492  (4.5)| 28(1.4)|  451(6.4)|  3(0.4)|437 (13.0)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Russian Federation .........|508(3.7)|505 (4.0)|516  (3.2)|507(3.9)|515   (4.2)|484 (3.2)| 53(1.2)|509  (4.4)| 45(1.2)|  511(3.4)|  2(0.2)| ‡    (†)
Saudi Arabia ...............|332(4.6)|307 (5.3)|331  (4.7)|338(3.4)|382   (4.3)|339 (3.8)| 15(1.0)|315  (8.1)| 62(1.6)|  335(4.6)| 23(1.6)|345  (5.7)
Scotland\11\ ...............|498(3.7)|484 (4.2)|488  (3.9)|508(3.6)|491   (3.3)|531 (3.7)|  8(0.8)|493  (5.8)| 46(2.1)|  507(4.5)| 46(2.5)|496  (4.1)
Serbia\13\ .................|477(2.6)|477 (2.8)|488  (2.5)|475(2.5)|471   (3.0)|456 (2.6)| 25(1.3)|466  (4.1)| 54(1.2)|  481(3.5)| 20(1.7)|497  (3.5)
Singapore ..................|605(3.6)|618 (3.5)|590  (3.5)|611(3.6)|580   (3.7)|579 (3.2)| 38(1.1)|621  (3.1)| 51(0.9)|  604(3.8)| 11(0.8)|566  (7.8)
                            |        |         |          |        |           |         |        |          |        |          |        |
Slovak Republic ............|508(3.3)|514 (3.3)|505  (3.3)|508(3.7)|501   (3.6)|495 (2.9)| 11(0.9)|495  (6.4)| 81(1.4)|  511(3.4)|  8(1.3)|500  (7.7)
Slovenia ...................|493(2.2)|498 (2.0)|487  (2.3)|496(2.3)|483   (2.5)|494 (2.3)| 25(1.1)|482  (2.9)| 71(1.2)|  500(2.5)|  4(0.8)|463  (8.8)
South Africa ...............|264(5.5)|274 (5.4)|275  (5.1)|298(4.7)|247   (5.4)|296 (5.3)| 21(0.8)|275  (8.1)| 58(0.8)|  270(6.3)| 20(1.0)|260  (5.4)
Sweden .....................|499(2.6)|496 (2.6)|480  (3.0)|512(2.6)|467   (3.4)|539 (3.0)|  4(0.5)|453  (7.0)| 38(1.4)|  494(3.5)| 58(1.5)|509  (2.7)
Tunisia ....................|410(2.2)|419 (2.3)|405  (2.4)|407(2.2)|427   (2.0)|387 (2.2)| 39(1.1)|410  (2.7)| 50(1.1)|  414(2.2)| 11(0.9)|414  (4.3)
United States\16\ ..........|504(3.3)|508 (3.4)|510  (3.1)|495(3.2)|472   (3.1)|527 (3.2)| 31(1.0)|518  (4.1)| 60(0.9)|  506(3.2)|  9(0.9)|461  (6.3)
____________________________|________|_________|__________|________|___________|_________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met.
\1\Topic includes whole numbers; fractions and decimals; integers; and ratio, proportion, and percent.
\2\Topic includes patterns, algebraic expressions, equations and formulas, and relationships.
\3\Topic includes attributes and units and tools, techniques, and formulas.
\4\Topic includes lines and angles, two- and three-dimensional shapes, congruence and similarity, locations and spatial relationships, and symmetry and transformations.
\5\Topic includes data collection and organization, data representation, data interpretation, and uncertainty and probability.
\6\High level indicates more than 30 minutes of mathematics homework assigned 3-4 times a week.
\7\Medium level includes all possible combinations of responses not included in the high or low level categories (see below for details on the low level).
\8\Low level indicates no more than 30 minutes of mathematics homework assigned no more than twice a week.
\9\The international average of 467 may sometimes appear as 466. In that case, the TIMSS 2003 average for eighth-graders published in the National Center for Education Statistics report reflects the deletion of England from the average.
\10\Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates.
\11\Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
\12\SAR=Special Administrative Region.
\13\National Desired Population does not cover all of International Desired Population.
\14\National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of National Desired Population.
\15\Korea tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2003, at the beginning of the next school year.
\16\Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
\17\Response rate for the TMH index was at least 70 but less than 85 percent of the students, with missing data having not been explicitly accounted for in the analysis.
NOTE: TMH index data are provided by students. Data are for eighth grade or equivalent in most countries. Possible scores range from 1 to 1,000. Standard errors appear in parentheses. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2003, TIMSS 2003 International Mathematics Report, by Ina V. S. Mullis et al. (This table was prepared April 2005.)


2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest