• Public school students' average science score was 538 at grade 4 and 532 at grade 8.
• Higher percentages of North Carolina 4th- and 8th-graders performed at or above each of the four TIMSS international benchmarks than the international medians. For example, 12 percent of 4th-graders and 12 percent of 8th-graders in North Carolina performed at or above the Advanced benchmark (625) compared to the international median of 5 percent at grade 4 and 4 percent at grade 8 (see figures 11 and 12, Highlights from TIMSS 2011).
• Males outperformed females by 9 score points on average in science at grade 4 and by 12 score points at grade 8 (see figures 13 and 14, Highlights from TIMSS 2011). At both grade 4 and grade 8, male and female students in North Carolina scored higher, on average, in science than the TIMSS scale average (table 2).
• At grade 4, White, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students scored, on average, above the TIMSS scale average. Black students' average scores were not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average.
• At grade 8, White and Asian students scored, on average, above the TIMSS scale average while Black students scored lower, on average. Hispanic and multiracial students' average scores were not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average.
• In general, at grade 4 students in public schools with less than 75 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch scored higher, on average, than the TIMSS scale average. Average scores among students in public schools with 75 percent or more of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average. At grade 8, students in public schools with less than 50 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch scored higher, on average, than the TIMSS scale average, while average scores for students in schools with 50 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average.

Suggested Citation: Provasnik, S., Kastberg, D., Ferraro, D., Lemanski, N., Roey, S., and Jenkins, F. (2012). Highlights From TIMSS 2011: Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context (NCES 2013-009). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.