Linking NAEP and TIMSS Study

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) initiated this special study in an effort to link the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scale to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) scale so that states could compare the performance and academic achievement of American students with that of students in other countries.

The NAEP assessment schedule was modified so that eighth-graders in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense schools (referred to as "states" or U.S. states) could be assessed in mathematics and science in 2011.

The NAEP-TIMSS linking study used states' NAEP scores to predict performance on TIMSS. Nine states participated in the 2011 TIMSS at the state level. In the linking study, the actual TIMSS scores from those states were used to validate their predicted results.

Linking NAEP and TIMSS Study 2013

Average mathematics scores for public school students in 36 states were higher than the TIMSS average of 500. Average science scores for public school students in 47 states were higher than the TIMSS average of 500.

Three students collaborating at a work station. Student studying on a computer and a book.
Report Mathematics DataScience Data

About the Release

Commissioner's Statement News ReleaseClick to open pdf.

Frameworks and Sample Questions

Each NAEP assessment is based on an organizing framework, similar to a blueprint, that is developed by education and assessment experts. Frameworks provide information about the content to be assessed in each subject and about what knowledge and which skills are necessary for students being assessed in those subjects. The frameworks also offer insights about how to measure skills in innovative ways. Survey questionnaires, administered to students, teachers, and school administrators who participate in an assessment, are used to gather and report contextual information about the students' learning experiences in and out of the classroom. Read the frameworks below for mathematics, science, and TIMMS, see sample questions from the mathematics and science assessments, and explore survey questionnaires.


NAEP Mathematics Framework NAEP Science Framework TIMSS Framework Survey Questionnaires Sample Mathematics Questions Sample Science Questions
Icons representing each NAEP assessment subject in arts, civics, economics, geography, reading, mathematics, technology and engineering literacy, science, U.S. history, and writing.

Design and Methodology

The 2011 NAEP-TIMSS linking study enabled NCES to evaluate multiple linking methodologies. See a brief description of the linking study samples and methodologies employed, exclusion rates, and learn more about TIMSS at NCES and making international comparisons in academic achievement.

Linking NAEP and TIMSS TIMSS

TIMSS Publications

2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study: Technical Report on the Linking Methodologies and Their Evaluations. 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study: Technical Report on the Linking Methodologies and Their EvaluationsREAD MORE U.S. States in a Global Context: Results from the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study. Green globe. U.S. States in a Global Context: Results from the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking StudyREAD MORE 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study: Linking Methodologies and Their Evaluations. 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study: Linking Methodologies and Their EvaluationsRead More Image of all seven continents. NAEP-TIMSS Linking StudyREAD MORE
Last updated 29 May 2025 (MB)