PREFACE
OVERVIEW
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study is the largest and most comprehensive comparative international study of education that has ever been undertaken. A half-million students from 41 countries were tested in 30 different languages at five different grade levels to compare their mathematics and science achievement. Intensive studies of students, teachers, schools, curriculum, instruction, and policy issues were also carried out to understand the educational context in which learning takes place.
Twenty-six countries tested fourth-grade students and made their data available for presentation. Of these, 17 met or came close to meeting all of the quality control requirements for sampling and data collection. The other 9 countries experienced difficulties of various types. All deviations from international quality control requirements are described in Appendix 4. The 9 countries within which difficulties arose are shown in parentheses both below and in figures contained in this report.
COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN FOURTH-GRADE TIMSS
(Australia) Japan (Austria) Korea Canada (Kuwait) Cyprus (Latvia) Czech Republic (Netherlands) England New Zealand Greece Norway Hong Kong Portugal (Hungary) Scotland Iceland Singapore Iran, Islamic Republic (Slovenia) Ireland (Thailand) Israel United StatesSeventeen other countries participated in one or more aspects of TIMSS but not in the fourth-grade study. These countries are Belgium (Flemish), Belgium (French), Bulgaria, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
TIMSS is an important study for those interested in U.S. education. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education pointed to our nation's low performance in international studies as evidence that we were A Nation at Risk. In 1989, President Bush and the governors of all 50 states adopted the National Goals for Education, one of which was that "by the year 2000, the U.S. will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement."
Mathematics and science experts have issued major calls for reform in the teaching of their subjects. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published Curriculum and Evaluation Standards in 1989 and Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics in 1991. In 1993, the American Association for the Advancement of Science followed suit with Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and in 1996, the National Academy of Sciences published National Science Education Standards.
TIMSS helps us measure progress toward our national goal of improving our children's academic performance in mathematics and science. But TIMSS is much more than a scorecard for the mathematics and science events in the "education Olympics." It is a diagnostic tool to help us examine our nation's progress toward improvement of mathematics and science education. It was designed to look behind the scorecard to illuminate how our education policies and practices compare with those of the world community.
This report draws from the results of the fourth-grade part of the TIMSS study to summarize the initial findings concerning mathematics and science achievement and schooling at that grade level. It is the second of three reports in the Pursuing Excellence series. The first report presented initial findings on the eighth grade and was released in November 1996. The third report, to be published in spring 1998, will treat findings concerning students in the twelfth grade. Other reports on selected topics will be published over the next several years. Much more will be learned as further analysis of the TIMSS data continues.
TIMSS is a fair and accurate comparison of mathematics and science achievement in the participating nations. It is not a comparison of "all of our students with other nations' best students," a charge that some critics have leveled at previous international comparisons. In most of the countries that participated in TIMSS, virtually all children attend elementary school, and the students who took the TIMSS test were randomly selected to represent all students in their respective nations. The entire assessment process was scrutinized by international technical review committees to ensure its adherence to established standards. Those nations in which irregularities arose are clearly noted in this and other TIMSS reports.
At each step of its development, TIMSS used careful quality control procedures. An international curriculum analysis was carried out prior to the development of the assessments to ensure that the tests reflect the mathematics and science curricula of the variety of TIMSS countries and do not overemphasize what is taught in only a few. International monitors carefully checked the test translations and visited many classrooms while the tests were being administered to make sure that the instructions were properly followed. The raw data from each country were scrutinized to be sure that no anomalies existed, and all analyses were double checked. Finally, this report has been written and carefully reviewed to avoid overgeneralization and inaccuracy.
STUDY DESIGN
TIMSS is the third comparison of mathematics and science achievement carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Previous IEA studies of mathematics and science were conducted for each subject separately at various times during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. TIMSS is the first IEA study that has assessed both mathematics and science at the same time. Comparative studies of other subjects, including reading literacy (1992) \1\ and computers in education (1993) \2\ have also been published by the IEA.
TIMSS was designed to focus on students at three different stages of schooling: midway through elementary school, midway through lower secondary school, and at the end of upper secondary school. Because countries around the world set different ages at which children should begin and complete school, decisions about which students should be tested needed to take both age and grade level into account. The populations tested are listed below. Participation in Population 2 was required of all TIMSS nations, but participation in Populations 1 and 3 was optional.
- Population 1 -- Those students enrolled in the pair of adjacent grades that contained the most 9-year-olds. (Grades 3 and 4 in the U.S. and most of the world. Grades 2 and 3 or 4 and 5 in some nations.)
- Population 2 -- Those students in the pair of adjacent grades that contained the most 13-year-olds at the time of testing. (Grades 7 and 8 in the U.S. and most of the world. Grades 6 and 7 in a few nations.)
- Population 3 -- Those students in their final year of secondary school, whatever their age. (Grade 12 in the U.S. and most nations. Grades 9-13 in some nations.)
In all participating countries, students in both public and private schools were administered the TIMSS test. In all but a few of the TIMSS countries, virtually all Population 1 and 2 children are enrolled in school and were therefore eligible to take the test. Testing occurred 2 to 3 months before the end of the 1994-95 school year. Students with special needs and disabilities that would make it difficult for them to take the test were excused from the assessment. In each country, the test was translated into the primary language or languages of instruction. All testing in the U.S. was done in the English language.
Countries participating in TIMSS collected information primarily through assessments and questionnaires. Additional information on the content of textbooks and curriculum guides was also collected in a separate series of curriculum analyses. The 26 countries participating in the Population 1 part of the TIMSS study engaged in three types of data collection:
- Mathematics and science assessments--One and one-half hours in length, the assessments included both multiple-choice and free-response items. A smaller number of students also completed hands-on performance assessments that will be reported later.
- School, teacher, and student questionnaires--Students answered questions about their mathematics and science studies and beliefs. Teachers answered questions on their beliefs about mathematics and science and on teaching practices. School administrators answered questions about school policies and practices.
- Curriculum analysis--This exploratory study compared mathematics and science curriculum guides and textbooks. It studied subject-matter content, sequencing of topics, and expectations for student performance.
THE TIMSS RESEARCH TEAM
TIMSS was conducted by the IEA, which is a Netherlands-based organization of ministries of education and research institutions in its member countries. The IEA delegated responsibility for overall coordination and management of the TIMSS study to Professor Albert Beaton at the TIMSS International Study Center, located at Boston College. Each of the IEA member nations that made the decision to participate in TIMSS paid for and carried out the data collection in its own country according to the international guidelines. The costs of the international coordination were paid by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Canadian Government.
TIMSS in the United States was also funded by NCES and NSF. Professor William Schmidt of Michigan State University was the U.S. National Research Coordinator. Policy decisions on the study were made by the U.S. National Coordinating Committee. Lois Peak monitored the international and U.S. TIMSS projects. The U.S. data collection was carried out by Westat, a private survey research firm. Trevor Williams and Nancy Caldwell were Westat project co-directors. The many advisors to the study are listed in Appendix 2.
The U.S. TIMSS team also includes the approximately 4,000 third and 7,000 fourth graders who took the assessment, and their principals and teachers in 190 schools nationwide. Their cooperation has made this report possible.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT
This report summarizes early findings from the fourth-grade data. Both third- and fourth-grade students took the TIMSS test as part of Population 1, but this initial report focuses on findings for the fourth grade. Future reports based on a more complete and extensive analysis of the data will provide deeper understanding and investigate relationships among the findings from the different parts of the study. Extensive documentation of the data collection methodologies and statistical analyses used in all participating countries is available in technical reports \3\ and quality control reports\4\ published by the TIMSS International Study Center at Boston College. Similar technical detail for the United States will soon be available from NCES.
This report is based on the comparative data for 26 countries published by the TIMSS International Study Center at Boston College. The report's purpose is to highlight initial findings concerning the place of the United States among the participating nations.
Chapter 1 draws from the results of the student assessments to describe U.S. student achievement in mathematics and science in comparison with their international counterparts.
Chapter 2 summarizes the evidence from initial analyses to attempt to address the key findings illuminated in Chapter 1.
