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2004 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

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Table 405. Eighth-grade students' perceptions about mathematics and hours spent on leisure activities, by country: 2003 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                         |Index of students' self-confidence in learning mathematics (SCM)\1\|                               Average hours spent each day\2\
                         |___________________________________________________________________|_________________________________________________________________________________
Country                  |       High SCM      |     Medium SCM      |       Low SCM         | Watching|  Playing| Playing or|    Doing|  Playing|  Reading|    Using|  Working
                         |_____________________|_____________________|_______________________|    TV or| computer|    talking|  jobs at|   sports|      for|      the|at a paid
                         |         |    Average|        |     Average|         |      Average|   videos|    games|       with|     home|         |enjoyment| internet|      job
                         |  Percent|achievement| Percent| achievement|  Percent|  achievement|         |         |    friends|         |         |         |         |
_________________________|_________|___________|________|____________|_________|_____________|_________|_________|___________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
1                        |       2 |         3 |      4 |          5 |       6 |           7 |        8|        9|         10|       11|       12|       13|       14|       15
_________________________|_________|___________|________|____________|_________|_____________|_________|_________|___________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
Armenia .................| 41 (1.1)|505   (4.0)| 40(1.0)|468    (3.7)| 19 (0.9)|462     (4.1)|1.8(0.03)| ‡   (†) | ‡     (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†)
Australia ...............| 50 (1.7)|542   (4.5)| 31(1.1)|483    (3.7)| 19 (1.2)|451     (6.4)|2.0(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.7  (0.04)|1.0(0.02)|1.6(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|1.3(0.04)|0.4(0.03)
Bahrain .................| 44 (0.9)|437   (2.0)| 38(0.9)|379    (2.4)| 18 (0.6)|366     (3.2)|2.0(0.03)|1.2(0.02)|1.6  (0.03)|1.2(0.02)|1.5(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.4(0.03)|0.6(0.02)
Belgium (Flemish) .......| 45 (0.9)|556   (3.2)| 30(0.7)|526    (3.0)| 25 (0.8)|518     (3.5)|2.1(0.03)|1.0(0.03)|1.9  (0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.6(0.03)|0.5(0.01)|1.3(0.03)|0.2(0.02)
Botswana ................| 38 (0.9)|390   (2.8)| 45(0.8)|361    (2.5)| 17 (0.8)|352     (3.4)|1.4(0.03)|0.5(0.02)|2.1  (0.04)|2.3(0.03)|1.5(0.02)|1.8(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.03)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Bulgaria ................| 33 (1.3)|519   (5.5)| 39(1.4)|467    (4.2)| 28 (1.2)|445     (4.8)|2.5(0.04)|1.1(0.04)|2.6  (0.05)|1.5(0.03)|1.2(0.04)|0.7(0.03)|1.0(0.04)|0.3(0.02)
Chile ...................| 35 (0.9)|427   (3.9)| 42(0.7)|369    (3.4)| 23 (0.7)|361     (3.9)|2.2(0.02)|0.7(0.02)|2.3  (0.02)|1.5(0.02)|1.8(0.03)|0.6(0.01)|0.7(0.02)|0.3(0.02)
Chinese Taipei ..........| 26 (1.0)|661   (4.1)| 30(0.7)|593    (5.1)| 44 (1.1)|534     (4.0)|1.7(0.03)|1.4(0.04)|1.4  (0.03)|0.7(0.01)|1.0(0.02)|1.0(0.02)|1.4(0.04)|0.2(0.01)
Cyprus ..................| 46 (0.8)|503   (2.0)| 32(0.8)|437    (2.2)| 22 (0.7)|407     (3.6)|2.1(0.03)|1.3(0.02)|2.1  (0.03)|1.0(0.03)|1.7(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.2(0.02)|0.6(0.02)
Egypt ...................| 58 (1.0)|437   (3.3)| 35(0.9)|383    (3.7)|  7 (0.4)|374     (5.3)|0.8(0.02)|0.7(0.02)|0.8  (0.02)|1.3(0.03)|1.1(0.02)|1.0(0.02)|0.6(0.02)|0.6(0.02)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
England\3\ ..............| ‡   (†) | ‡     (†) | ‡  (†) | ‡      (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡       (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡     (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†)
Estonia .................| 41 (0.9)|569   (3.2)| 32(0.7)|520    (3.1)| 28 (0.8)|489     (3.5)|2.3(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|2.8  (0.03)|1.1(0.02)|1.4(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|1.5(0.04)|0.4(0.02)
Ghana ...................|---  (†) |---    (†) |--- (†) |---     (†) |---  (†) |---      (†) |0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.02)|1.2  (0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.3(0.02)|1.7(0.03)|0.8(0.03)|0.8(0.03)
Hong Kong, SAR\4\ .......| 30 (0.9)|627   (2.9)| 38(0.7)|581    (4.1)| 33 (0.9)|556     (4.0)|2.3(0.03)|2.0(0.04)|1.6  (0.03)|0.7(0.01)|1.0(0.02)|1.1(0.02)|2.0(0.03)|0.1(0.01)
Hungary .................| 44 (1.0)|574   (3.3)| 32(1.0)|507    (3.9)| 24 (0.8)|479     (3.9)|2.1(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|2.2  (0.03)|1.1(0.02)|1.5(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|0.6(0.03)|0.2(0.02)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Indonesia ...............| 27 (1.1)|420   (6.6)| 59(0.8)|408    (4.5)| 15 (0.9)|416     (4.7)|1.5(0.03)|0.5(0.02)|1.3  (0.03)|2.2(0.03)|1.1(0.02)|1.1(0.02)|0.3(0.02)|0.8(0.03)
Iran, Islamic Republic ..| 35 (0.9)|447   (3.5)| 49(0.8)|399    (2.6)| 16 (0.7)|377     (3.4)|1.6(0.03)|0.4(0.02)|1.4  (0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.4(0.04)|1.0(0.02)|0.2(0.02)|0.7(0.05)
Israel ..................| 59 (1.2)|526   (3.5)| 30(0.9)|461    (3.8)| 11 (0.7)|451     (5.7)|2.5(0.04)|1.9(0.03)|2.3  (0.03)|1.4(0.03)|1.6(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.8(0.04)|0.6(0.02)
Italy ...................| 46 (0.9)|521   (3.3)| 29(0.9)|466    (3.6)| 25 (1.0)|439     (3.4)|1.8(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|2.6  (0.03)|1.1(0.03)|1.8(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.02)|0.9(0.02)
Japan ...................| 17 (0.6)|634   (3.1)| 38(0.7)|580    (2.7)| 45 (0.8)|538     (2.3)|2.7(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|1.6  (0.04)|0.6(0.01)|1.3(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|0.6(0.02)|0.1(0.01)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Jordan ..................| 49 (1.2)|463   (4.7)| 38(1.0)|400    (3.7)| 13 (0.7)|390     (4.4)|1.5(0.03)|0.9(0.03)|1.2  (0.03)|1.3(0.03)|1.2(0.03)|0.9(0.02)|0.6(0.03)|0.6(0.03)
Korea, Republic of\5\ ...| 30 (0.7)|650   (2.8)| 36(0.6)|592    (2.5)| 34 (0.8)|534     (2.3)|1.7(0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.8  (0.03)|0.7(0.01)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.01)|1.7(0.03)|0.1(0.01)
Latvia ..................| 34 (1.0)|555   (3.4)| 33(0.9)|499    (3.2)| 33 (1.0)|473     (3.4)|2.4(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|2.8  (0.03)|1.6(0.03)|1.3(0.03)|0.8(0.03)|0.8(0.03)|0.5(0.02)
Lebanon .................| 43 (1.4)|462   (3.6)| 44(1.1)|416    (3.1)| 13 (0.7)|403     (4.4)|1.8(0.04)|1.3(0.03)|1.6  (0.04)|1.3(0.03)|1.6(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|1.0(0.03)|0.8(0.03)
Lithuania ...............| 36 (1.0)|552   (3.1)| 37(0.9)|486    (2.8)| 26 (0.9)|456     (2.7)|2.1(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|2.6  (0.04)|1.6(0.04)|1.1(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|0.7(0.03)|0.3(0.02)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Macedonia, Republic of ..| 33 (1.0)|482   (4.0)| 37(1.0)|418    (4.7)| 31 (1.0)|424     (3.9)|2.3(0.04)|1.3(0.03)|2.2  (0.03)|1.6(0.03)|1.8(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|0.9(0.03)|0.7(0.03)
Malaysia ................| 39 (1.2)|546   (4.2)| 45(1.0)|490    (3.7)| 16 (0.7)|471     (4.4)|2.1(0.04)|0.8(0.03)|1.5  (0.03)|1.7(0.02)|1.1(0.02)|1.2(0.02)|0.6(0.02)|0.3(0.02)
Moldova, Republic of ....| 30 (1.2)|494   (5.0)| 50(0.9)|451    (4.5)| 20 (1.1)|441     (5.3)|1.9(0.04)|0.7(0.03)|2.0  (0.04)|2.2(0.06)|1.3(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|0.7(0.03)|0.5(0.03)
Morocco .................| ‡   (†) | ‡     (†) | ‡  (†) | ‡      (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡       (†) |1.3(0.04)|2.3(0.06)|1.3  (0.03)|1.8(0.03)|1.5(0.03)| ‡   (†) | ‡   (†) | ‡   (†)
Netherlands .............| 45 (1.4)|557   (4.4)| 33(1.0)|527    (4.7)| 23 (1.0)|511     (4.8)|2.1(0.05)|1.2(0.04)|2.0  (0.05)|0.8(0.02)|1.7(0.04)|0.5(0.02)|1.5(0.04)|0.8(0.05)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
New Zealand .............| 43 (1.4)|534   (6.4)| 36(1.1)|475    (5.4)| 21 (0.9)|452     (4.1)|2.1(0.04)|1.0(0.04)|1.8  (0.05)|1.0(0.02)|1.5(0.03)|0.7(0.03)|1.3(0.04)|0.6(0.03)
Norway ..................| 46 (1.1)|502   (2.0)| 32(0.8)|445    (2.9)| 21 (0.8)|405     (3.4)|2.2(0.03)|1.2(0.03)|2.7  (0.03)|1.0(0.03)|1.8(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|1.2(0.03)|0.7(0.02)
Palestinian              |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
   National Authority ...| 43 (1.0)|428   (3.9)| 41(0.9)|370    (2.9)| 16 (0.6)|355     (3.6)|1.2(0.02)|0.7(0.02)|1.3  (0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|0.5(0.02)|0.6(0.03)
Philippines .............| 29 (0.7)|405   (6.1)| 59(0.7)|369    (4.8)| 12 (0.5)|366     (6.5)|1.6(0.04)|0.6(0.02)|1.7  (0.03)|1.9(0.03)|1.4(0.02)|1.2(0.02)|0.5(0.03)|0.8(0.04)
Romania .................| 30 (1.2)|533   (4.6)| 45(1.1)|465    (4.5)| 25 (0.9)|442     (5.4)|2.0(0.04)|0.9(0.03)|2.1  (0.03)|1.7(0.05)|1.3(0.03)|1.0(0.03)|0.8(0.04)|0.5(0.04)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Russian Federation ......| 43 (1.1)|548   (3.0)| 30(0.8)|492    (4.1)| 27 (0.8)|466     (4.6)|2.0(0.03)|1.0(0.03)|2.5  (0.04)|1.6(0.03)|1.3(0.02)|1.1(0.03)|0.4(0.02)|0.2(0.02)
Saudi Arabia ............| 41 (1.4)|361   (4.8)| 43(1.1)|321    (5.4)| 16 (0.9)|303     (5.8)|1.6(0.05)|1.1(0.03)|1.3  (0.03)|1.5(0.04)|1.2(0.04)|0.9(0.02)|0.8(0.05)|0.8(0.03)
Scotland ................| 52 (1.5)|524   (3.9)| 32(1.0)|477    (3.8)| 15 (0.9)|456     (5.0)|2.2(0.03)|1.4(0.04)|2.7  (0.03)|0.8(0.02)|1.7(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|1.4(0.03)|0.5(0.03)
Serbia ..................| 44 (1.1)|530   (2.8)| 26(0.7)|458    (3.2)| 30 (1.1)|422     (3.4)|2.1(0.03)|1.0(0.03)|2.1  (0.03)|1.3(0.03)|1.7(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|0.6(0.03)|0.3(0.02)
Singapore ...............| 39 (0.8)|639   (3.0)| 34(0.7)|594    (3.9)| 27 (0.7)|571     (4.6)|2.3(0.02)|1.4(0.02)|1.7  (0.02)|0.7(0.02)|1.4(0.02)|0.9(0.02)|1.6(0.02)|0.2(0.02)
                         |         |           |        |            |         |             |         |         |           |         |         |         |         |
Slovak Republic .........| 40 (1.1)|556   (3.7)| 35(1.0)|487    (3.9)| 25 (1.0)|462     (4.1)|2.5(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|2.8  (0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.9(0.04)|0.9(0.02)|0.6(0.03)|0.4(0.02)
Slovenia ................| 40 (0.9)|533   (3.2)| 39(1.0)|474    (2.5)| 20 (0.9)|453     (2.8)|2.2(0.03)|1.3(0.03)|2.0  (0.03)|1.2(0.03)|1.7(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|1.1(0.03)|0.4(0.02)
South Africa ............| 37 (0.9)|300   (8.3)| 48(0.9)|242    (3.9)| 15 (0.8)|255     (9.9)|1.5(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|2.0  (0.03)|1.8(0.03)|1.6(0.02)|1.6(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|0.8(0.02)
Sweden ..................| 49 (1.3)|534   (2.6)| 36(0.9)|477    (3.1)| 16 (0.9)|446     (3.4)|2.1(0.03)|1.1(0.03)|2.8  (0.03)|1.0(0.02)|1.6(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|1.7(0.04)|0.4(0.02)
Tunisia .................| 44 (1.0)|436   (2.7)| 36(0.8)|399    (2.5)| 20 (0.9)|384     (2.2)|1.4(0.02)|0.8(0.03)|1.5  (0.02)|1.9(0.03)|1.5(0.02)|1.3(0.02)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.02)
United States ...........| 51 (0.8)|534   (3.3)| 29(0.6)|483    (3.5)| 20 (0.6)|461     (3.6)|2.2(0.03)|1.1(0.02)|2.4  (0.03)|1.2(0.02)|1.8(0.02)|0.7(0.01)|1.8(0.03)|0.6(0.02)
_________________________|_________|___________|________|____________|_________|_____________|_________|_________|___________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________

---Not available.
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met.
\1\Index based on students' responses to four statements about mathematics: 1) I usually do well in mathematics; 2) Mathematics is more difficult for me than for many of my classmates; 3) Mathematics is not one of my strengths; 4) I learn things quickly in mathematics. Average is computed across the four items based on a 4-point scale: 1. Agree a lot; 2. Agree a little; 3. Disagree a little; 4. Disagree a lot. Students showing positive attitudes a little or a lot of the time across the 4 statements were assigned to the high level. Students showing negative attitudes a little or a lot of the time across the 4 statements were assigned to the low level. Students showing mixed attitudes across the 4 statements were assigned to the middle level.
\2\Number of hours based on: No time = 0; Less than 1 hour = 0.5; 1-2 hours = 1.5; More than 2, but less than 4 hours = 3; 4 or more hours = 4.5. Activities are not necessarily exclusive; students may have reported engaging in more than one activity at the same time.
\3\Did not satisfy guidelines for international participation rates.
\4\SAR=Special Administrative Region.
\5\Korea tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2003, at the beginning of the next school year.

NOTE: Data are for 8th grade or equivalent in most countries. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

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.)


2004 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

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