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2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study

The National Center for Education Statistics conducted a study in 2012 to link results from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to results from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment. The goal of the NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study is to predict 2011 TIMSS mathematics and science scores at grade 8 for all U.S. states based on their NAEP performance for states, without incurring the costs associated with every state participating in TIMSS. The results of the Study will be released in 2013.

For a brochure on the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS linking study, click here.

About NAEP-TIMSS Linking Studies

The 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study represents the fourth study to link NAEP and TIMSS. The first study used results from the 1995 administration of TIMSS and the results from the 1996 NAEP (Johnson 1998).1 The second study used results from TIMSS 1999 and NAEP 2000 (Johnson et al. 2005).2 The third study examined linking 2007 NAEP and TIMSS data through the method of statistical moderation, by applying the correspondence between the national score distributions of NAEP and TIMSS to the state and district NAEP score distributions.3 The 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study was undertaken to improve on these previous attempts to link these two assessments.

How does the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study differ from past studies?

The 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study differed from the previous linking studies in the several ways.

  1. Unlike previous efforts, the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study administered NAEP and TIMSS booklets at the same time under the same testing conditions. This provided examinee-level correlations between NAEP and TIMSS scores to improve the accuracy of the predicted TIMSS state scores, and
  1. A greater number of validation states, nine, participated in TIMSS, which meant a greater number of actual state TIMSS results were available to validate the predicted TIMSS average scores. The nine states that participated in TIMSS in 2011 were Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina.

What was done to make the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study possible?

To make this study possible, the National Center for Education Statistics invited eight states in the summer of 2010 to participate in TIMSS 2011 to serve as validation states. These states were selected based on their state enrollment size, regional distribution, and willingness to participate, as well as whether they performed above or below the national average on NAEP and had previous experience in benchmarking to TIMSS. Florida also decided to participate in TIMSS in 2011 and became the ninth validation state.

In addition to arranging for the participation of validation states, the National Center for Education Statistics also added an off-cycle NAEP science assessment in 2011 to make this study possible. The 2011 Science NAEP administered the regular NAEP science test booklets at the national and state level during the winter data collection period, as well as NAEP-like booklets, which contained both NAEP and TIMSS blocks of assessment questions, to another national sample. All 50 states and the District of Columbia volunteered to participate in the 2011 Science NAEP. Furthermore, during the spring 2011 data collection period, NCES administered the regular TIMSS assessments at the state level in the nine states as well as TIMSS-like booklets, which contained both NAEP and TIMSS blocks of assessment questions, to another national sample. This methodology, known as a braided-booklet design, was similar to that used for the NAEP studies that supported maintaining the NAEP trends in 2009 reading and 12th grade mathematics.

The new NAEP and TIMSS components were created to complement each other and made it possible to avoid interference with the respective study’s normal operations. The data from these studies were collected by the regular NAEP field staff during the winter data collection and by the regular TIMSS field staff in the spring. The responses to the assessment questions were scored using the same scoring staff, with the same training and quality control procedures, that NAEP and TIMSS normally use.

Results from the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study

The TIMSS results for the nine validation states were released in December 2012 at the same time as the international and national TIMSS results. Click here to see those results.

The results of the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study—with predicted TIMSS mathematics and science scores for all 50 states and the District of Columbia—were released in October 2013. Click here to see those results.

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1 Johnson, E.G. (1998). Linking The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): Eighth-Grade Results (NCES 98-500). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
2 Johnson, E., Cohen, J., Chen, W.H., Jiang, T., and Zhang, Y. (2003). 2000 NAEP-1999 TIMSS Linking Report (NCES 2005-01). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
3 Phillips, G.W. (2009). The Second Derivative: International Benchmarks in Mathematics for American States and School Districts. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from http://www.air.org/files/International_Benchmarks1.pdf.