EDUCATION INDICATORS: An International Perspective

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Indicator 26: Testing in Mathematics and Science Classes

The use of weekly tests or quizzes by teachers provides an indication of the extent of regular monitoring of student progress, which research studies have associated with high student achievement. Weekly tests or quizzes can also provide students with an understanding of formalized tests and test settings, thus preparing them to perform well on other examinations such as national entrance or exit exams. However, as is the case with homework indicators, statistics concerning weekly mathematics and science examinations do not include information about the quality and applicability of the examinations administered or the effort and care students take in completing them.

• With few exceptions, a greater percentage of 13-year-old students in the United States were tested in mathematics and in science on a weekly basis than in other countries for which 1991 data were available (68 percent of U.S. students were tested weekly in mathematics and 69 percent were tested weekly in science).

• The variation in the percentage of 13-year-olds tested weekly in these two subjects was quite wide among the countries surveyed, ranging from 17 to 87 percent in mathematics (in Hungary and Taiwan, respectively) and from 18 to 88 percent in science (18 percent in Ireland, Slovenia, and Switzerland, and 88 percent in the former Soviet Union).

• In most of the countries surveyed, more 13-year-old students took weekly mathematics tests than science tests. However, in Hungary, Jordan, the former Soviet Union, and Spain, more students took science tests than mathematics tests; and in the United States and Ireland, the percentages of students taking weekly examinations were roughly equal for both subjects.

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Table 26: Percentage of 13-year-old students who took a test or quiz at least once a week,/1 by subject and country: 1991

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Country			Mathematics		Science
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G-72
Canada			53 (0.9)		26 (1.1)
France			64 (1.3)		47 (1.4)
United States		68 (2.1)		69 (2.0)
Other
Hungary			17 (1.3)		27 (1.6)
Ireland			19 (1.5)		18 (1.1)
Israel			36 (2.2)		28 (1.9)
Jordan			68 (1.5)		73 (1.8)
Korea			28 (1.9)		21 (1.6)
			
Slovenia		28 (1.5)		18 (1.0)
Soviet Union (former)	52 (1.5)		88 (1.2)
Spain			31 (1.7)		42 (2.6)
Switzerland		40 (2.5)		18 (1.2)
Taiwan			87 (1.1)		67 (1.2)
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1/ Jackknifed standard errors are in parentheses.
2/ No data available for Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

NOTE: See supplemental note to Indicator 26 for details on indicator calculation for Canada, Israel, the former Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, International Assessment of Educational Progress, Learning Science, 1992; Learning Mathematics, 1992.

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Figure 26: Percentage of 13-year-old students who took a mathematics or science test or quiz at least once a week, by selected country:* 1991

*Countries are sorted in descending order by the percentage of 13-year-olds who took a mathematics test or quiz at least once a week.

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, International Assessment of Educational Progress, Learning Mathematics, 1992; Learning Science, 1992.

Notes on Figures and Tables

In some cases, countries limited assessments to particular geographic areas or language groups. A description of these limitations follows.

Canada, Israel, the former Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States

See supplemental notes for Indicator 8.

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[Indicator 25] [Indicator 27]