Skip Navigation


Table 3. Average science scores of fourth- and eighth-grade students, by country: 2007

Grade four Grade eight
Country Average score Country Average score
TIMSS scale average 500 TIMSS scale average 500
Singapore 587 Singapore 567
Chinese Taipei 557 Chinese Taipei 561
Hong Kong SAR1 554 Japan 554
Japan 548 Korea, Rep. of 553
Russian Federation 546 England3 542
Latvia2 542 Hungary 539
England 542 Czech Republic 539
United States3, 4 539 Slovenia 538
Hungary 536 Hong Kong SAR1, 3 530
Italy 535 Russian Federation 530
Kazakhstan2 533 United States3, 4 520
Germany 528 Lithuania2 519
Australia 527 Australia 515
Slovak Republic 526 Sweden 511
Austria 526 Scotland3 496
Sweden 525 Italy 495
Netherlands5 523 Armenia 488
Slovenia 518 Norway 487
Denmark3 517 Ukraine 485
Czech Republic 515 Jordan 482
Lithuania2 514 Malaysia 471
New Zealand 504 Thailand 471
Scotland3 500 Serbia2, 4 470
Armenia 484 Bulgaria7 470
Norway 477 Israel7 468
Ukraine 474 Bahrain 467
Iran, Islamic Rep. of 436 Bosnia and Herzegovina 466
Georgia2 418 Romania 462
Colombia 400 Iran, Islamic Rep. of 459
El Salvador 390 Malta 457
Algeria 354 Turkey 454
Kuwait6 348 Syrian Arab Republic 452
Tunisia 318 Cyprus 452
Morocco 297 Tunisia 445
Qatar 294 Indonesia 427
Yemen 197 Oman 423
  Georgia2 421
  Kuwait6 418
  Colombia 417
  Lebanon 414
  Egypt 408
  Algeria 408
  Palestinian Nat'l Auth. 404
  Saudi Arabia 403
  El Salvador 387
  Botswana 355
  Qatar 319
  Ghana 303

Color swatch indicating that Average score is higher than the U.S. average score (p < .05) Average score is higher than the U.S. average score (p < .05)
Color swatch indicating that Average score is not measurably different from the U.S. average score (p < .05) Average score is not measurably different from the U.S. average score (p < .05)
Color swatch indicating that Average score is lower than the U.S. average score (p < .05) Average score is lower than the U.S. average score (p < .05)
1 Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China.
2 National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population defined by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
3 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
4 National Defined Population covers 90 percent to 95 percent of National Target Population.
5 Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
6 Kuwait tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2007, at the beginning of the next school year.
7 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of National Target Population (but at least 77 percent).
NOTE: Countries are ordered by 2007 average score. The tests for significance take into account the standard error for the reported difference. Thus, a small difference between the United States and one country may be significant while a large difference between the United States and another country may not be significant. The standard errors of the estimates are shown in tables E-20 and E-21 available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009001.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2007.