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| 2007 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 398. | Average eighth-grade science scores in content areas and average time spent studying out of school, by country: 2003 |
| Country or other jurisdiction | Average score by content area | Index of time students spend doing science homework (TSH) in a normal school week 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Science overall | Life science | Chemistry | Physics | Earth science | Environmental science | High TSH | Medium TSH | Low TSH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent | Mean score | Percent | Mean score | Percent | Mean score | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International average | 473 | (0.5) | 474 | (0.5) | 474 | (0.5) | 474 | (0.5) | 474 | (0.5) | 474 | (0.5) | 13 | (0.2) | 458 | (1.3) | 44 | (0.2) | 466 | (0.9) | 43 | (0.3) | 467 | (0.9) | ||||||||||||
| Armenia | 461 | (3.5) | 453 | 2 | (3.3) | 466 | 2 | (4.2) | 479 | (3.2) | 460 | 2 | (3.7) | 417 | 2 | (4.4) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | ||||||||
| Australia | 527 | (3.8) | 532 | 3 | (3.8) | 506 | 3 | (3.8) | 521 | 3 | (3.7) | 531 | 3 | (4.2) | 536 | 3 | (3.4) | 9 | (0.8) | 520 | (6.4) | 35 | (1.6) | 530 | (3.3) | 56 | (2.0) | 530 | (4.4) | |||||||
| Bahrain | 438 | (1.8) | 445 | 2 | (1.9) | 441 | 2 | (2.6) | 443 | 2 | (2.0) | 440 | 2 | (2.4) | 439 | 2 | (3.1) | 13 | (0.7) | 426 | (4.1) | 56 | (1.3) | 441 | (2.5) | 31 | (1.4) | 445 | (2.6) | |||||||
| Belgium (Flemish) | 516 | (2.5) | 526 | 3 | (2.4) | 503 | 3 | (2.0) | 514 | 3 | (2.5) | 508 | 3 | (2.5) | 523 | 3 | (2.7) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Botswana | 365 | (2.8) | 370 | 2 | (2.7) | 348 | 2 | (3.1) | 371 | 2 | (3.2) | 361 | 2 | (3.1) | 381 | 2 | (3.3) | 14 | (0.7) | 378 | (6.1) | 45 | (1.0) | 368 | (3.2) | 40 | (1.2) | 366 | (3.6) | |||||||
| Bulgaria | 479 | (5.2) | 474 | (5.2) | 482 | (5.7) | 485 | 3 | (5.0) | 491 | 3 | (4.9) | 464 | 3 | (5.0) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||||
| Chile | 413 | (2.9) | 427 | 2 | (2.7) | 405 | 2 | (3.3) | 401 | 2 | (3.1) | 435 | 2 | (3.1) | 436 | 2 | (2.9) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Chinese Taipei | 571 | (3.5) | 563 | 3 | (3.1) | 584 | 3 | (4.0) | 569 | 3 | (3.3) | 548 | 3 | (3.1) | 560 | 3 | (3.1) | 12 | 4 | (1.2) | 588 | 4 | (4.6) | 37 | 4 | (1.3) | 581 | 4 | (4.0) | 51 | 4 | (2.1) | 561 | 4 | (3.5) | |
| Cyprus | 441 | (2.0) | 437 | 2 | (2.2) | 443 | 2 | (2.6) | 450 | 2 | (1.7) | 447 | 2 | (2.1) | 441 | 2 | (2.3) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| England5 | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ||||||||||||
| Egypt | 421 | (3.9) | 425 | 2 | (3.7) | 442 | 2 | (3.8) | 414 | 2 | (4.1) | 403 | 2 | (4.4) | 430 | 2 | (4.0) | 23 | (0.7) | 416 | (4.4) | 64 | (0.8) | 436 | (4.0) | 13 | (0.6) | 430 | (6.6) | |||||||
| Estonia | 552 | (2.5) | 547 | 3 | (2.4) | 552 | 3 | (2.1) | 544 | 3 | (2.4) | 558 | 3 | (2.9) | 540 | 3 | (2.2) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Ghana | 255 | (5.9) | 256 | 2 | (5.6) | 276 | 2 | (6.6) | 239 | 2 | (5.4) | 254 | 2 | (5.6) | 267 | 2 | (6.2) | 25 | (1.2) | 267 | (8.5) | 54 | (1.0) | 262 | (6.0) | 22 | (1.0) | 258 | (8.1) | |||||||
| Hong Kong, SAR6,7 | 556 | (3.0) | 551 | 3 | (2.9) | 542 | 3 | (2.6) | 555 | 3 | (2.8) | 549 | 3 | (2.9) | 555 | 3 | (2.6) | 6 | (0.5) | 548 | (4.6) | 43 | (1.4) | 563 | (2.9) | 50 | (1.4) | 554 | (3.9) | |||||||
| Hungary | 543 | (2.8) | 536 | 3 | (2.7) | 560 | 3 | (3.1) | 536 | 3 | (2.7) | 537 | 3 | (3.1) | 528 | 3 | (2.9) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Indonesia8 | 420 | (4.1) | 424 | 2 | (3.9) | 391 | 2 | (3.8) | 430 | 2 | (4.0) | 431 | 2 | (3.8) | 454 | 2 | (3.4) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | 453 | (2.3) | 447 | 2 | (2.6) | 445 | 2 | (2.7) | 445 | 2 | (3.0) | 468 | 2 | (2.9) | 487 | 3 | (2.1) | 8 | (0.7) | 451 | (5.6) | 42 | (1.4) | 457 | (2.9) | 49 | (1.7) | 452 | (2.7) | |||||||
| Israel9 | 488 | 10 | (3.1) | 491 | 3 | (3.0) | 499 | 3 | (3.4) | 484 | 3 | (2.9) | 485 | 3 | (3.0) | 486 | 3 | (2.9) | 13 | (0.9) | 480 | (4.7) | 43 | (1.6) | 485 | (4.3) | 44 | (2.0) | 505 | (3.4) | ||||||
| Italy | 491 | (3.1) | 498 | 3 | (3.2) | 487 | 3 | (3.3) | 470 | (3.2) | 513 | 3 | (3.2) | 497 | 3 | (3.0) | 14 | (1.0) | 489 | (5.9) | 41 | (1.1) | 487 | (3.7) | 45 | (1.4) | 496 | (3.7) | ||||||||
| Japan | 552 | (1.7) | 549 | 3 | (2.0) | 552 | 3 | (2.1) | 564 | 3 | (1.9) | 530 | 3 | (2.1) | 537 | 3 | (2.0) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Jordan | 475 | (3.8) | 475 | (4.0) | 478 | (4.4) | 465 | 2 | (3.8) | 472 | (4.0) | 492 | 3 | (3.2) | 19 | (0.9) | 466 | (4.2) | 52 | (1.2) | 478 | (3.9) | 29 | (1.5) | 499 | (5.0) | ||||||||||
| Korea, Republic of11 | 558 | (1.6) | 558 | 3 | (1.6) | 529 | 3 | (2.5) | 579 | 3 | (1.6) | 540 | 3 | (1.9) | 544 | 3 | (1.4) | 4 | (0.4) | 549 | (6.3) | 26 | (1.7) | 562 | (2.4) | 70 | (2.0) | 559 | (1.9) | |||||||
| Latvia | 513 | (2.9) | 511 | 3 | (2.5) | 514 | 3 | (3.2) | 512 | 3 | (2.4) | 514 | 3 | (2.8) | 508 | 3 | (3.3) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Lebanon | 393 | (4.3) | 360 | 2 | (5.0) | 433 | 2 | (4.9) | 419 | 2 | (4.0) | 395 | 2 | (4.0) | 374 | 2 | (5.1) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Lithuania8 | 519 | (2.1) | 517 | (2.4) | 534 | 3 | (2.3) | 519 | 3 | (2.7) | 512 | 3 | (2.7) | 507 | 3 | (2.0) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | ||||||||
| Macedonia9 | 449 | (3.6) | 448 | 2 | (3.8) | 467 | 2 | (3.9) | 458 | 2 | (3.1) | 440 | 2 | (4.3) | 442 | 2 | (3.7) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Malaysia | 510 | (3.7) | 504 | 3 | (3.7) | 514 | 3 | (3.8) | 519 | 3 | (3.6) | 502 | 3 | (3.8) | 513 | 3 | (3.2) | 20 | (1.0) | 513 | (4.4) | 49 | (0.9) | 510 | (3.6) | 31 | (1.3) | 510 | (4.6) | |||||||
| Moldova | 472 | (3.4) | 466 | 2 | (3.7) | 479 | (3.9) | 479 | (3.7) | 475 | (4.0) | 454 | 2 | (3.8) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | ||||||||||
| Morocco7,8 | 396 | 10 | (2.5) | 390 | 2 | (2.6) | 402 | 2 | (2.7) | 410 | 2 | (2.7) | 397 | 2 | (3.4) | 396 | 2 | (3.3) | 14 | 7 | (0.7) | 391 | 7 | (5.3) | 47 | 7 | (1.1) | 396 | 7 | (3.4) | 39 | 7 | (1.3) | 408 | 7 | (3.5) |
| Netherlands7 | 536 | (3.1) | 536 | 3 | (3.3) | 514 | 3 | (2.6) | 538 | 3 | (3.4) | 534 | 3 | (3.2) | 539 | 3 | (2.8) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| New Zealand | 520 | (5.0) | 523 | 3 | (5.1) | 501 | 3 | (5.6) | 515 | 3 | (4.7) | 525 | 3 | (4.8) | 525 | 3 | (3.9) | 10 | (1.3) | 519 | (6.2) | 41 | (1.6) | 531 | (6.9) | 48 | (2.0) | 518 | (5.1) | |||||||
| Norway | 494 | (2.2) | 496 | 3 | (2.5) | 485 | 3 | (3.0) | 488 | 3 | (2.6) | 517 | 3 | (2.7) | 496 | 3 | (2.2) | 13 | (0.8) | 485 | (3.7) | 44 | (1.2) | 493 | (3.1) | 43 | (1.7) | 503 | (2.3) | |||||||
| Palestinian National Authority | 435 | (3.2) | 435 | 2 | (3.6) | 444 | 2 | (3.9) | 432 | 2 | (3.6) | 439 | 2 | (3.0) | 444 | 2 | (3.7) | 21 | (1.1) | 433 | (4.4) | 56 | (1.3) | 442 | (3.4) | 23 | (1.3) | 441 | (4.8) | |||||||
| Philippines12 | 377 | (5.8) | 387 | 2 | (5.8) | 342 | 2 | (6.1) | 380 | 2 | (4.7) | 377 | 2 | (5.7) | 403 | 2 | (5.4) | 17 | (0.7) | 381 | (7.5) | 50 | (0.8) | 379 | (5.7) | 33 | (1.2) | 381 | (7.2) | |||||||
| Romania | 470 | (4.9) | 471 | (4.8) | 474 | (4.9) | 473 | (4.1) | 469 | (5.2) | 472 | (4.7) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | ||||||||||||
| Russian Federation | 514 | (3.7) | 514 | 3 | (3.3) | 527 | 3 | (4.0) | 511 | 3 | (3.4) | 518 | 3 | (3.3) | 491 | 3 | (3.2) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 398 | (4.0) | 412 | 2 | (3.9) | 382 | 2 | (4.8) | 394 | 2 | (3.9) | 394 | 2 | (4.0) | 410 | 2 | (3.8) | 8 | (0.7) | 382 | (6.0) | 61 | (1.5) | 402 | (4.6) | 31 | (1.7) | 403 | (4.6) | |||||||
| Scotland7 | 512 | (3.4) | 512 | 3 | (3.3) | 499 | 3 | (3.2) | 515 | 3 | (3.0) | 515 | 3 | (3.8) | 511 | 3 | (3.5) | 3 | (0.4) | 487 | (14.2) | 27 | (1.4) | 508 | (5.0) | 71 | (1.5) | 517 | (3.4) | |||||||
| Serbia8 | 468 | (2.5) | 468 | 2 | (2.6) | 474 | (3.2) | 471 | (2.6) | 471 | (3.0) | 457 | 2 | (2.4) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | ||||||||||
| Singapore | 578 | (4.3) | 569 | 3 | (4.0) | 582 | 3 | (4.2) | 579 | 3 | (3.4) | 549 | 3 | (3.9) | 568 | 3 | (3.8) | 18 | (0.7) | 595 | (4.1) | 48 | (0.7) | 585 | (4.4) | 34 | (0.9) | 564 | (5.5) | |||||||
| Slovak Republic | 517 | (3.2) | 514 | 3 | (2.9) | 519 | 3 | (3.6) | 519 | 3 | (2.9) | 523 | 3 | (3.3) | 509 | 3 | (2.8) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Slovenia | 520 | (1.8) | 521 | 3 | (2.2) | 532 | 3 | (2.6) | 509 | 3 | (1.8) | 523 | 3 | (2.2) | 515 | 3 | (2.2) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| South Africa | 244 | (6.7) | 250 | 2 | (6.0) | 285 | 2 | (5.9) | 244 | 2 | (6.2) | 247 | 2 | (6.3) | 261 | 2 | (6.6) | 17 | (0.7) | 234 | (9.6) | 52 | (0.9) | 246 | (7.9) | 32 | (0.9) | 263 | (7.4) | |||||||
| Sweden | 524 | (2.7) | 528 | 3 | (2.7) | 526 | 3 | (2.6) | 525 | 3 | (2.9) | 532 | 3 | (3.3) | 499 | 3 | (2.6) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | — | (†) | |||||||
| Tunisia | 404 | (2.1) | 417 | 2 | (2.0) | 413 | 2 | (2.5) | 386 | 2 | (2.5) | 408 | 2 | (2.0) | 436 | 2 | (2.2) | 9 | (0.6) | 398 | (4.0) | 35 | (0.9) | 400 | (2.8) | 56 | (1.2) | 411 | (2.6) | |||||||
| United States9 | 527 | 10 | (3.1) | 537 | 3 | (3.0) | 513 | 3 | (3.2) | 515 | 3 | (2.9) | 532 | 3 | (2.9) | 533 | 3 | (2.9) | 13 | (0.7) | 519 | (4.3) | 43 | (1.4) | 530 | (3.4) | 45 | (1.7) | 531 | (3.7) | ||||||
| — Not available. † Not applicable. ‡ Reporting standards not met. 1 Index based on students' reports on the frequency and amount of science homework they are given. High level indicates more than 30 minutes of science homework assigned 3–4 times a week. Low level indicates no more than 30 minutes of science homework no more than twice a week. Medium level includes all other possible combinations of responses. 2 Country average significantly lower than international average. 3 Country average significantly higher than international average. 4 Students were asked about natural science; data pertain to grade 8 physics/chemistry course. 5 Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates. 6 SAR = Special Administrative Region. 7 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included. 8 National Desired Population does not cover all of International Desired Population. 9 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of National Desired Population. 10 Did not meet international sampling or other guidelines. 11 Korea tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2003, at the beginning of the next school year. 12 Students study only biology at grade 8. NOTE: Data are for eighth grade or equivalent in most countries. Possible scores range from 0 to 1000. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses. SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2003, TIMSS 2003 International Science Report, by Michael O. Martin et al. (This table was prepared October 2005.) |
