Special Analysis 2009

Synthesis of mathematics results

Table A-4. Average TIMSS mathematics scores of eighth-grade students on combined mathematics scale, by jurisdiction: 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007

	1995				1999				2003				2007
Jurisdiction	Average score			s.e.	Average score			s.e.	Average score			s.e.	Average score			s.e.
TIMSS scale average		500		*0.0*		500		*0.0*		500		*0.0*	▼	500		*0.0*

Algeria		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	387		2.1
Argentina		(¹)		†		—		†		—		†		—		†
Armenia		—		†		—		†	▼	478		3.0	▼	499		3.5
Australia	∆	509		3.7	∆	525	³	4.8		505		4.6	▼	496		3.9
Austria	∆	529	⁴	3.1		—		†		—		†		—		†
Bahrain		—		†		—		†	▼	401		1.7	▼	398		1.6
Belgium (Flemish)	∆	550	⁵	5.9	∆	558	⁵	3.3	∆	537		2.8		—		†
Belgium (French)	∆	518	⁴	3.8		—		†		—		†		—		†
Bosnia and Herzegovina		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	456		2.7
Botswana		—		†		—		†	▼	366		2.6	▼	364		2.3
Bulgaria	∆	527	⁶	5.8		511		5.9	▼	476		4.3	▼	464		5.0
Canada	∆	521		2.2	∆	531		2.5		—		†		—		†
Chile		—		†	▼	392		4.4	▼	387		3.3		—		†
Chinese Taipei		—		†	∆	585		4.0	∆	585		4.6	∆	598		4.5
Colombia	▼	332		5.6		—		†		—		†	▼	380		3.6
Cyprus	▼	468		2.2	▼	476		1.8	▼	459		1.7	▼	465		1.6
Czech Republic	∆	546		4.5	∆	520		4.2		—		†		504		2.4
Denmark		(⁷)		3.1		—		†		—		†		—		†
Egypt		—		†		—		†	▼	406		3.5	▼	391		3.6
El Salvador		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	340		2.8
England		498	^5,8	3.0		496	⁴	4.2		(⁹)		†		513	⁵	4.8
Estonia		—		†		—		†	∆	531		3.0		—		†
Finland		—		†	∆	520		2.7		—		†		—		†
France	∆	530		2.8		—		†		—		†		—		†
Georgia		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	410	¹⁰	6.0
Germany		502	^4,5,10	4.5		—		†		—		†		—		†
Ghana		—		†		—		†	▼	276		4.7	▼	309		4.4
Greece		(⁷)		3.4		—		†		—		†		—		†
Hong Kong SAR¹¹	∆	569		6.1	∆	582	⁵	4.3	∆	586	⁵	3.3	∆	572	⁵	5.8
Hungary	∆	527		3.2	∆	532		3.7	∆	529	¹²	3.2		517		3.5
Iceland		484		4.9		—		†		—		†		—		†
Indonesia		(¹)		†	▼	403		4.9	▼	411	¹⁰	4.8	▼	397		3.8
Iran, Islamic Republic of	▼	418		3.9	▼	422		3.4	▼	411	¹²	2.4	▼	403		4.1
Ireland	∆	519		4.8		—		†		—		†		—		†
Israel		(13)		†	▼	466	⁸	3.9		496	⁸	3.4	▼	463	⁸	3.9
Italy		(¹)		†	▼	479	¹²	3.8	▼	484		3.2	▼	480		3.0
Japan	∆	581		1.6	∆	579		1.7	∆	570		2.1	∆	570		2.4
Jordan		—		†	▼	428		3.6	▼	424		4.1	▼	427		4.1
Korea, Republic of	∆	581		2.0	∆	587		2.0	∆	589	¹⁴	2.2	∆	597		2.7
Kuwait		(13)		†		—		†		—		†	▼	354	¹⁴	2.3
Latvia (LSS)¹⁵		488	¹⁰	3.6		505	¹⁰	3.4		505		3.8		—		†
Lebanon		—		†		—		†	▼	433		3.1	▼	449		4.0
Lithuania	▼	472	^10,12	4.1	▼	482	^10,14	4.3		502	¹⁰	2.5		506	¹⁰	2.3
Macedonia, Republic of		—		†	▼	447		4.2	▼	435	⁸	3.5		—		†
Malaysia		—		†	∆	519		4.4		508		4.1	▼	474		5.0
Malta		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	488		1.2
Mexico		(16)		†		—		†		—		†		—		†
Moldova, Republic of		—		†	▼	469		3.9	▼	460		4.0		—		†
Morocco		—		†	▼	337		2.6	▼	387	^2,10,17	2.5		(18)		†
Netherlands	∆	529	⁴	6.1	∆	540	⁵	7.1	∆	536	⁵	3.8		—		†
New Zealand		501		4.7		491		5.2		494		5.3		—		†
Norway		498		2.2		—		†	▼	461		2.5	▼	469		2.0
Oman		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	372		3.4
Palestinian National Authority		—		†		—		†	▼	390		3.1	▼	367		3.5
Philippines		(19)		†	▼	345		6.0	▼	378		5.2		—		†
Portugal	▼	451		3.0		—		†		—		†		—		†
Qatar		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	307		1.4
Romania	▼	474		4.6	▼	472		5.8	▼	475		4.8	▼	461		4.1
Russian Federation	∆	524	¹²	5.3	∆	526		5.9		508		3.7		512		4.1
Saudi Arabia		—		†		—		†	▼	332		4.6	▼	329	¹⁷	2.9
Scotland		493	²	5.7		—		†		498	⁵	3.7	▼	487	⁵	3.7
Serbia		—		†		—		†	▼	477	¹⁰	2.6	▼	486	^10,12	3.3
Singapore	∆	609		4.0	∆	604		6.3	∆	605		3.6	∆	593		3.8
Slovak Republic	∆	534		3.1	∆	534		4.0		508		3.3		—		†
Slovenia		494	⁴	2.9		530	³	2.8	▼	493		2.2	▼	501		2.1
South Africa		(13)		†	▼	275		6.8	▼	264		5.5		—		†
Spain		483		2.3		—		†		—		†		—		†
Sweden	∆	540		4.3		—		†		499		2.6	▼	491		2.3
Switzerland	∆	534	¹⁰	2.7		—		†		—		†		—		†
Syrian Arab Republic		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	395		3.8
Thailand		(⁷)		†	▼	467		5.1		—		†	▼	441		5.0
Tunisia		—		†	▼	448		2.4	▼	410		2.2	▼	420		2.4
Turkey		—		†	▼	429		4.3		—		†	▼	432	¹⁷	4.8
Ukraine		—		†		—		†		—		†	▼	462		3.6
United States		492	⁵	*4.7*		502		*4.0*		504	²	*3.3*		508	^5,12	*2.8*
∆ Score is higher than U.S. score.
▼ Score is lower than U.S. score.
— Not available. (Data were not collected or not reported.)
† Not applicable.
¹Argentina, Italy, and Indonesia were unable to complete the steps necessary for their data to appear in TIMSS 1995 report.
²Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
³Because of national-level changes in the starting age/date for school, data cannot be compared with other years.
⁴Sampling issues identified by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). See TIMSS 1995 report for details.
⁵Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
⁶Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates.
⁷Data not shown because of unapproved sampling procedures at classroom level.
⁸National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of National Target Population (but at least 77 percent).
⁹England collected data in 2003, but due to problems with meeting the minimum sampling requirements its eighth-grade data are not reported.
¹⁰National Target Population did not include all of the International Target Population defined by TIMSS.
¹¹Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China.
¹²National Defined Population covers 90 percent to 95 percent of National Target Population.
¹³Data not shown because of unapproved sampling procedures at classroom level and failure to meet other guidelines.
¹⁴The same cohort of students was tested as other countries, but later in the same year, at the beginning of the next school year.
¹⁵Only Latvian-speaking schools (LSS) are included.
¹⁶Mexico participated in the testing portion of TIMSS, but chose not to release its results at grades 7 and 8 in the international report.
¹⁷Data not comparable with previous cycles.
¹⁸Morocco failed to meet the required school participation rates in 2007 because of a procedural difficulty with some schools.
¹⁹Data for the Philippines are not shown because characteristics of its school sample are not completely known.
NOTE: Jurisdictions are ordered alphabetically. Combined mathematics literacy scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The TIMSS 1995 average scores were rescaled to allow for trend analysis. For more details, see appendix A. The tests for significance take into account the standard error for the reported difference. Thus, a small difference between the United States and one country may be significant while a large difference between the United States and another country may not be significant. Standard error is noted by s.e.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995,1999, 2003, and 2007.

For more information: Gonzales, P., Williams, T., Jocelyn, L., Roey, S., Kastberg, D., and Brenwald, S. (2008). Highlights from TIMSS 2007 Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade in an International Context, table 3, table 4, table C2. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC; Gonzales, P., Guzman, J.C., Partelow, L., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg, L., and Williams, T. (2003). Highlights from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003, table 3 and table C2. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC; Gonzales, P., Calsyn, C., Jocelyn, L., Mak, K., Kastberg, D., Arafeh, S., Williams, T., and Tsen, W. (2000). Pursuing Excellence: Comparisons of International Eighth-Grade Mathematics and Science Achievement from a U.S. Perspective 1995 and 1999 figure 2 and table A3.1. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC; and previously unpublished 1995 data tabulations.

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