In addition to the following questions about TIMSS, more FAQs about international assessments are available at: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/faqs.asp.

• What areas of mathematics and science are assessed in TIMSS?
  
• How many U.S. schools and students participated in previous TIMSS cycles?
  
• How does TIMSS select a representative sample of students?
  
• Have there been changes in the countries participating in TIMSS?
  
• If the makeup of the countries changes across the years, how can one compare countries to the TIMSS scale average?
  
• How do the results of TIMSS compare with the results in PISA?
  
• How does the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. students on TIMSS compare with achievement on NAEP?
  
• Can you directly compare TIMSS scores at grade 4 to scores at grade 8?
  
• On TIMSS, why do U.S. boys outperform girls in mathematics at grade 4 but not at grade 8, and U.S. boys outperform girls in science at grade 8 but not at grade 4? Why aren't differences between the sexes more consistent?
  
• When are TIMSS data collected?
• Where can I get a copy of the TIMSS U.S. Report?
  
• When is TIMSS scheduled to be administered next?
  

When are TIMSS data collected?

TIMSS operates on a 4-year cycle, with 1995 being the first year it was administered. For TIMSS 2007, countries in the Northern Hemisphere conducted the assessment between April and June, 2007. Countries in the Southern Hemisphere conducted the assessment in October and November, 2006. In both hemispheres the assessment is conducted near the end of the school year.

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