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Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 602.30. Average eighth-grade scores and annual instructional time in mathematics and science, by country or other education system: 2015
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country or other education system1 Total
instructional
hours per year
Mathematics Science
Average score2 Instructional time in mathematics Average score2 Instructional time in science3
Hours
per year
As a percent
of total
instructional
hours
Hours
per year
As a percent
of total
instructional
hours
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
International average4  1,013   (2.1) 500   (†) 136   (0.5) 13 (0.1) 500 (†) 144   (0.7) 14 (0.1)
Australia 1,011 5  (6.3) 505   (3.1) 139 5  (2.0) 14 (0.2) 512 (2.7) 126 6  (1.6) 12 (0.2)
Bahrain 1,032   (1.0) 454   (1.4) 153   (2.3) 15 (0.2) 466 (2.2) 125 5  (10.2) 12 (1.0)
Canada7,8,9 949 5  (4.9) 527   (2.2) 168 5  (2.9) 18 (0.3) 526 (2.1) 97 6  (2.2) 10 (0.2)
Chile 1,127 5  (18.0) 427 10  (3.2) 192 6  (5.8) 17 (0.6) 454 (3.1) 113 6  (5.0) 10 (0.5)
Chinese Taipei 1,132   (9.7) 599   (2.4) 160   (2.4) 14 (0.2) 569 (2.1) 144   (2.3) 13 (0.2)
                                     
Egypt 1,099   (21.2) 392 10  (4.1) 132   (3.3) 12 (0.4) 371 (4.3) 114   (2.9) 10 (0.3)
England (United Kingdom) 1,009 5  (8.3) 518   (4.2) 126 5  (3.4) 12 (0.4) 537 (3.8) 97 6  (3.8) 10 (0.4)
Georgia8,11 864 5  (16.7) 453   (3.4) 122 5  (4.0) 14 (0.5) 443 (3.1) 241 6  (6.8) 28 (1.0)
Hong Kong (China) 995   (11.7) 594   (4.6) 139   (3.1) 14 (0.4) 546 (3.9) 102   (2.8) 10 (0.3)
Hungary 842   (10.3) 514   (3.8) 113   (2.3) 13 (0.3) 527 (3.4) 201   (5.4) 24 (0.7)
                                     
Iran, Islamic Republic of 971   (16.9) 436 10  (4.6) 131   (4.6) 13 (0.5) 456 (4.0) 120   (3.1) 12 (0.4)
Ireland 963 5  (3.2) 523   (2.7) 109   (0.8) 11 (0.1) 530 (2.8) 90 5  (0.9) 9 (0.1)
Israel12 1,133 5  (15.5) 511   (4.1) 153 5  (2.2) 14 (0.3) 507 (3.9) 129 5  (3.5) 11 (0.3)
Italy11 1,047 5  (9.6) 494   (2.5) 149   (2.9) 14 (0.3) 499 (2.4) 71 5  (1.3) 7 (0.1)
Japan 1,036   (6.1) 586   (2.3) 106   (1.5) 10 (0.2) 571 (1.8) 131   (1.7) 13 (0.2)
                                     
Jordan 976   (12.5) 386 13  (3.2) 132   (2.3) 14 (0.3) 426 (3.3) 131   (2.3) 13 (0.3)
Kazakhstan 933   (19.4) 528   (5.3) 129   (3.4) 14 (0.5) 533 (4.4) 239   (5.4) 26 (0.8)
Korea, Republic of 947   (6.0) 606   (2.6) 114   (1.2) 12 (0.1) 556 (2.3) 94   (2.1) 10 (0.2)
Kuwait 997 5  (18.6) 392 10  (4.6) 136 5  (3.5) 14 (0.4) 411 (5.2) 117 5  (3.0) 12 (0.4)
Lebanon 945 5  (14.8) 442   (3.6) 158 5  (5.0) 17 (0.6) 398 (5.3) 243 5  (10.7) 26 (1.2)
                                     
Lithuania11 856   (10.2) 511   (2.8) 115   (1.7) 13 (0.3) 519 (2.8) 205   (4.2) 24 (0.6)
Malaysia 1,172 5  (15.6) 465   (3.6) 135   (4.1) 12 (0.4) 471 (4.1) 130 5  (4.0) 11 (0.4)
Malta 964   (0.3) 494   (1.0) 127 5  (0.1) 13 (#) 481 (1.6) 311 5  (1.0) 32 (0.1)
Morocco 1,364   (25.8) 384 13  (2.3) 152 5  (2.4) 11 (0.3) 393 (2.5) 160 5  (4.5) 12 (0.4)
New Zealand9 966 5  (6.9) 493   (3.4) 144 5  (2.5) 15 (0.3) 513 (3.1) 133 5  (2.5) 14 (0.3)
                                     
Norway14 895   (8.8) 512   (2.3) 105 5  (2.2) 12 (0.3) 509 (2.8) 81 5  (1.5) 9 (0.2)
Oman 980 5  (14.5) 403 10  (2.4) 166 6  (2.7) 17 (0.4) 455 (2.7) 143 5  (3.1) 15 (0.4)
Qatar 1,085 5  (1.9) 437 10  (3.0) 157 5  (2.8) 14 (0.3) 457 (3.0) 155 5  (2.6) 14 (0.2)
Russian Federation 884   (9.4) 538   (4.7) 145   (3.1) 16 (0.4) 544 (4.2) 219 5  (2.9) 25 (0.4)
Saudi Arabia 1,112   (18.7) 368 13  (4.6) 155 5  (4.3) 14 (0.5) 396 (4.5) 130   (5.7) 12 (0.5)
                                     
Singapore11 1,065   (#) 621   (3.2) 129   (1.3) 12 (0.1) 597 (3.2) 106   (1.4) 10 (0.1)
Slovenia 867 5  (10.3) 516   (2.1) 114 5  (1.3) 13 (0.2) 551 (2.4) 221 5  (4.7) 25 (0.6)
Sweden 921   (8.6) 501   (2.8) 99   (1.5) 11 (0.2) 522 (3.5) 122   (4.1) 13 (0.5)
Thailand 1,209   (6.8) 431   (4.8) 111   (1.7) 9 (0.1) 456 (4.2) 110   (1.7) 9 (0.1)
Turkey 983   (22.6) 458   (4.7) 117   (2.7) 12 (0.4) 493 (4.0) 112   (3.0) 11 (0.4)
                                     
United Arab Emirates 1,016 5  (6.4) 465   (2.0) 159 6  (2.7) 16 (0.3) 477 (2.3) 115 6  (4.3) 11 (0.4)
United States9 1,135   (8.8) 518   (3.1) 155 5  (3.9) 14 (0.4) 530 (2.8) 144 6  (2.4) 13 (0.2)
                                     
Benchmarking education systems                                    
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 1,024 5  (11.0) 442   (4.7) 166 6  (5.2) 16 (0.5) 454 (5.6) 122 6  (6.6) 12 (0.7)
Buenos Aires9 (Argentina) 1,164 6  (46.7) 396 13  (4.2)   (†) (†) 386 (4.2)   (†) (†)
Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 1,010 5  (1.3) 512   (2.1) 152 5  (1.7) 15 (0.2) 525 (2.0) 115 6  (3.5) 11 (0.3)
Florida8,15 (United States) 1,155 6  (39.9) 493   (6.4) 146 6  (9.0) 13 (0.9) 508 (6.0)   (†) (†)
Ontario (Canada) 970 5  (6.0) 522   (2.9) 179 5  (3.8) 18 (0.4) 524 (2.5) 91 6  (3.3) 9 (0.3)
Quebec16 (Canada) 906   (7.0) 543   (3.9) 149   (4.2) 16 (0.5) 530 (4.4) 98 5  (2.7) 11 (0.3)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either data are available for less than 50 percent of the students or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but some represent subnational entities; examples include two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec), a component of the United Kingdom (England), the U.S. state of Florida, and a few individual cities (such as Abu Dhabi within the United Arab Emirates).
2 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale centerpoint set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100.
3 General/integrated science instructional time is shown for the 27 participating countries that teach science as a general or integrated subject at eighth grade. For the 10 participating countries that teach the sciences as separate subjects (biology, chemistry, etc.) at eighth grade, total instructional time across science subjects is shown.
4 The international average includes only education systems that are members of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which develops and implements TIMSS at the international level. "Benchmarking" education systems are not members of the IEA and are therefore not included in the average.
5 Data are available for at least 70 percent but less than 85 percent of students.
6 Data are available for at least 50 percent but less than 70 percent of students.
7 Data for Canada include only students from the provinces of Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec.
8 National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population.
9 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
10 The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center has reservations about the reliability of the average achievement score because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeds 15 percent, though it is less than 25 percent.
11 National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of National Target Population.
12 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent).
13 The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center has reservations about the reliability of the average achievement score because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeds 25 percent.
14 Norway collected data from students in their ninth year of schooling rather than in grade 8 because year 1 in Norway is considered the equivalent of kindergarten rather than the first year of primary school.
15 U.S. state-level data are based on public school students only.
16 Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates.
NOTE: Countries and other education systems were required to draw probability samples of students who were nearing the end of their eighth year of formal schooling (counting the first year of primary school as year 1), provided that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 13.5 years. Instructional times shown in this table are actual or implemented times (as opposed to intended times prescribed by the curriculum). Principals reported total instructional hours per day and school days per year. Total instructional hours per year were calculated by multiplying the number of school days per year by the number of instructional hours per day. Teachers reported instructional hours per week in mathematics and science. Instructional hours per year in mathematics and science were calculated by dividing weekly instructional hours by the number of school days per week and then multiplying by the number of school days per year.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2015; International Results in Mathematics and Science, retrieved from Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center website (http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2015/international-results/)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest