|
|
| MATHEMATICS |
| Did the performance of U.S. fourth-
and eighth-graders in the mathematics content areas change between
1995 and 2003? |
|
Fourth Grade:
- Changes in performance between 1995 and 2003 on the five mathematics content areas measured in TIMSS (Number; Patterns, Equations, and Relationships; Measurement; Geometry; and Data) could not be calculated due to a limited number of items in common between the two assessments.
Eighth Grade:
- Between 1999 and 2003, U.S. eighth-graders showed significant improvement in correctly answering items associated with two of the five content areas: Algebra (i.e., patterns, equations, and relationships) and Data.2 There were no measurable differences detected in the average percentage of U.S. students who correctly answered items in Geometry, Measurement, and Number between 1999 and 2003 (see table C6 in appendix C).
- The United States was among 18 countries that showed significant change—either an increase or decrease—in the average percentage of eighth-grade students who were able to correctly respond to items in at least one of the five eighth-grade mathematics content areas between 1999 and 2003 (see table C6 in appendix C).
|
Footnotes
2 Although
many of the participating countries collected data in all three
years, analyses of changes in the mathematics content areas at
eighth grade are limited to 1999 and 2003 due to the limited
number of in common items from year to year.
|
  |
|
