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Digest of Education Statistics
1999 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 405  Average eighth grade science scores by content areas, and average time spent studying out of school, by country: 1994-95

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                         |   Average percent correct by content area                 |   Distribution of daily out-of-school study time in all
                         |                                                           |          subjects, with mean science scores
         Country         |___________________________________________________________|________________________________________________________________________________
                         |Overall |        |        |        |         |Environmental|                   |At least 1, but    |    2 to 3         |
                         |science |Earth   |Life    |Physics |Chemistry|issues and   |Less than 1 hour   |less than 2 hours  |     hours         |More than 3 hours
                         |scores  |science |science |        |         |the nature   |___________________|___________________|___________________|____________________
                         |        |        |        |        |         |of science   |Percent |Mean score|Percent |Mean score|Percent |Mean score|Percent  |Mean score
_________________________|________|________|________|________|_________|_____________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________|_________|__________
            1            | 2      | 3      | 4      | 5      | 6       |   7         | 8      | 9        |10      | 11       |12      | 13       |14       | 15
_________________________|________|________|________|________|_________|_____________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________|_________|__________
International average    |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
 percent correct ........|56 (0.1)|55 (0.1)|59 (0.1)|55 (0.1)| 51 (0.2)|     53 (0.2)|--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |---  --- |---   ---
                         |________|________|________|________|_________|_____________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________|_________|__________
Australia\1\ ............|60 (0.7)|57 (0.8)|63 (0.8)|60 (0.7)| 54 (0.9)|     62 (1.0)|15 (0.9)|505  (6.9)|46 (1.0)|556 (4.1) |22 (0.6)|557 (4.9) |17 (0.7) |546 (5.0)
Austria\1\ ..............|61 (0.7)|62 (0.8)|65 (0.7)|62 (0.7)| 58 (1.1)|     55 (0.9)| 9 (0.8)|551  (9.9)|46 (1.3)|563 (4.8) |21 (0.9)|561 (5.0) |24 (1.2) |553 (4.8)
Belgium (Flemish) .......|60 (1.1)|62 (1.2)|64 (1.1)|61 (1.1)| 51 (1.3)|     58 (1.5)| 2 (0.4)|---   --- |25 (1.3)|545 (5.0) |28 (1.1)|562 (5.9) |45 (1.6) |547 (3.6)
Belgium (French)\1\ .....|50 (0.7)|50 (0.9)|55 (0.9)|51 (0.7)| 41 (0.8)|     46 (1.0)| 7 (0.8)|428  (6.9)|32 (1.0)|481 (4.7) |21 (1.3)|481 (4.5) |40 (1.5) |467 (4.0)
Bulgaria\1\ .............|62 (1.0)|58 (1.2)|64 (1.0)|60 (1.0)| 65 (1.7)|     59 (1.5)|--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |---  --- |---   ---
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
Canada ..................|59 (0.5)|58 (0.6)|62 (0.6)|59 (0.4)| 52 (0.7)|     61 (0.7)|14 (1.2)|524  (6.1)|47 (1.1)|541 (2.8) |18 (0.7)|531 (3.9) |21 (1.1) |517 (3.6)
Colombia\1\ .............|39 (0.8)|37 (0.8)|44 (0.9)|37 (0.8)| 32 (1.0)|     40 (1.1)| 2 (0.4)|---   --- |17 (1.1)|421 (5.3) |20 (1.2)|422 (4.9) |61 (1.9) |413 (5.8)
Cyprus ..................|47 (0.4)|46 (0.6)|49 (0.5)|46 (0.4)| 45 (0.6)|     46 (0.8)| 9 (0.5)|430  (7.0)|19 (0.7)|468 (4.4) |26 (0.8)|475 (3.4) |46 (0.9) |466 (2.9)
Czech Republic ..........|64 (0.8)|63 (1.2)|69 (0.8)|64 (0.7)| 60 (1.2)|     59 (1.1)|13 (1.1)|558  (9.0)|57 (1.1)|579 (3.9) |17 (0.9)|582 (7.2) |13 (0.8) |560 (6.4)
Denmark\1\ ..............|51 (0.6)|49 (0.7)|56 (0.7)|53 (0.7)| 41 (0.8)|     47 (1.0)|39 (1.6)|494  (4.4)|39 (1.4)|479 (4.1) |13 (0.8)|459 (5.5) | 9 (0.7) |457 (6.8)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
England\1\ ..............|61 (0.6)|59 (0.8)|64 (0.8)|62 (0.6)| 55 (0.8)|     65 (1.0)|--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |---  --- |---   ---
France ..................|54 (0.6)|55 (0.8)|56 (0.8)|54 (0.5)| 47 (0.9)|     53 (0.9)| 8 (0.7)|481  (6.8)|33 (1.2)|497 (3.3) |28 (1.0)|506 (4.0) |31 (1.2) |499 (3.4)
Germany\1\ ..............|58 (1.0)|57 (1.0)|63 (1.1)|57 (1.0)| 54 (1.3)|     51 (1.3)|14 (1.1)|505  (8.2)|51 (1.2)|541 (4.6) |18 (1.0)|544 (7.0) |17 (0.9) |525 (6.5)
Greece\1\ ...............|52 (0.5)|49 (0.6)|54 (0.6)|53 (0.5)| 51 (0.5)|     51 (1.0)| 6 (0.6)|473  (4.8)|14 (0.7)|497 (5.0) |21 (0.7)|500 (3.1) |59 (1.2) |502 (2.5)
Hong Kong ...............|58 (1.0)|54 (1.0)|61 (1.0)|58 (0.9)| 55 (1.0)|     55 (1.3)|13 (1.0)|489  (7.3)|32 (0.9)|519 (4.7) |25 (0.9)|534 (4.8) |30 (1.1) |534 (5.2)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
Hungary .................|61 (0.6)|60 (0.8)|65 (0.7)|60 (0.6)| 60 (0.8)|     53 (0.8)| 4 (0.4)|519 (10.0)|33 (1.1)|553 (4.4) |22 (0.9)|557 (5.6) |41 (1.3) |557 (3.0)
Iceland .................|52 (0.9)|50 (1.2)|58 (1.0)|53 (0.9)| 42 (0.8)|     49 (1.0)| 5 (1.0)|470  (8.7)|46 (1.7)|505 (5.6) |25 (1.3)|493 (4.5) |23 (1.4) |488 (7.5)
Iran, Islamic Republic ..|47 (0.6)|45 (0.6)|49 (0.6)|48 (0.7)| 52 (0.8)|     39 (1.1)| 1 (0.2)|---   --- | 5 (0.5)|476 (6.0) |12 (1.0)|479 (5.2) |82 (1.3) |471 (2.7)
Ireland .................|58 (0.9)|61 (1.0)|60 (1.1)|56 (0.8)| 54 (1.0)|     60 (1.1)| 5 (0.6)|475  (9.0)|29 (1.0)|529 (5.4) |40 (1.1)|550 (4.7) |26 (1.2) |550 (4.9)
Israel\1\ ...............|57 (1.1)|55 (1.1)|61 (1.1)|57 (1.1)| 53 (1.5)|     52 (1.6)| 5 (0.6)|532 (13.5)|36 (2.2)|555 (7.7) |26 (1.5)|523 (6.9) |33 (2.1) |505 (5.2)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
Japan  ..................|65 (0.3)|61 (0.4)|71 (0.4)|67 (0.3)| 61 (0.5)|     60 (0.7)|13 (0.8)|551  (4.4)|39 (0.8)|573 (2.2) |20 (0.6)|572 (3.0) |28 (1.0) |577 (2.4)
Korea ...................|66 (0.3)|63 (0.5)|70 (0.4)|65 (0.5)| 63 (0.6)|     64 (0.8)|15 (0.9)|544  (5.0)|32 (1.1)|564 (2.9) |25 (0.8)|562 (3.1) |29 (1.2) |581 (3.7)
Kuwait\1\ ...............|43 (0.9)|43 (1.0)|45 (1.1)|43 (0.7)| 40 (1.5)|     39 (1.3)| 3 (0.6)|400 (10.4)|13 (1.5)|436 (7.8) |19 (1.3)|432 (7.1) |65 (1.8) |431 (3.4)
Latvia (Latvian-         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
 speaking schools\1\ ....|50 (0.6)|48 (0.8)|53 (0.7)|51 (0.7)| 48 (0.8)|     47 (1.0)| 4 (0.5)|468  (8.5)|35 (1.1)|492 (4.1) |32 (1.2)|490 (4.1) |29 (1.2) |481 (3.0)
Lithuania\1\ ............|49 (0.7)|46 (0.9)|52 (0.9)|51 (0.7)| 48 (0.9)|     40 (1.0)| 5 (0.6)|457  (9.1)|39 (1.4)|484 (4.5) |28 (1.0)|483 (3.8) |28 (1.4) |472 (4.7)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
Netherlands\1\ ..........|62 (1.0)|61 (1.4)|67 (1.4)|63 (0.9)| 52 (0.9)|     65 (1.6)| 3 (0.9)|519 (17.1)|54 (1.7)|559 (6.1) |27 (1.7)|578 (5.4) |16 (0.8) |545 (5.7)
New Zealand .............|58 (0.8)|56 (0.9)|60 (1.0)|58 (0.7)| 53 (1.1)|     59 (1.2)|12 (0.9)|488  (7.6)|51 (1.2)|536 (4.6) |21 (1.0)|537 (5.7) |17 (0.9) |516 (5.7)
Norway ..................|58 (0.4)|61 (0.6)|61 (0.5)|57 (0.4)| 49 (0.6)|     55 (0.8)| 6 (0.5)|501  (7.3)|50 (1.2)|533 (2.5) |24 (0.9)|536 (3.4) |21 (0.9) |516 (3.7)
Portugal ................|50 (0.6)|50 (0.7)|53 (0.6)|48 (0.5)| 50 (0.9)|     45 (0.8)| 3 (0.3)|465  (8.8)|41 (1.1)|488 (2.9) |18 (0.7)|478 (4.1) |38 (1.2) |474 (2.8)
Romania\1\ ..............|50 (0.8)|49 (1.0)|55 (1.0)|49 (0.8)| 46 (1.0)|     42 (1.0)| 9 (0.7)|460 (11.7)|16 (1.0)|468 (7.0) |15 (0.7)|487 (5.7) |60 (1.6) |499 (5.2)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
Russian Federation ......|58 (0.8)|58 (0.8)|62 (0.7)|57 (0.9)| 57 (1.3)|     50 (0.8)| 4 (0.5)|511 (10.1)|33 (1.1)|542 (4.4) |25 (1.0)|538 (4.4) |38 (1.4) |543 (4.6)
Scotland\1\ .............|55 (1.0)|52 (1.0)|57 (1.1)|57 (0.8)| 51 (1.3)|     57 (1.4)|17 (1.4)|470  (5.3)|54 (1.2)|526 (5.1) |17 (1.0)|537 (8.5) |12 (0.8) |532 (6.5)
Singapore ...............|70 (1.0)|65 (1.1)|72 (1.0)|69 (0.8)| 69 (1.2)|     74 (1.1)| 2 (0.3)|---   --- | 7 (0.4)|604 (8.4) |13 (0.6)|617 (7.3) |78 (0.9) |607 (5.4)
Slovak Republic .........|59 (0.6)|60 (0.7)|60 (0.6)|61 (0.6)| 57 (0.8)|     53 (0.9)| 6 (0.5)|551  (7.1)|46 (0.9)|552 (3.7) |25 (0.7)|541 (3.8) |23 (1.0) |536 (4.7)
Slovenia\1\ .............|62 (0.5)|64 (0.7)|65 (0.6)|61 (0.6)| 56 (0.9)|     59 (0.9)| 5 (0.5)|559  (9.2)|36 (1.0)|580 (3.5) |21 (0.8)|557 (3.2) |37 (1.1) |544 (3.3)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
South Africa\1\ .........|27 (1.3)|26 (1.1)|27 (1.3)|27 (1.4)| 26 (1.4)|     26 (1.3)|--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |--- --- |---   --- |---  --- |---   ---
Spain ...................|56 (0.4)|57 (0.5)|58 (0.5)|55 (0.4)| 51 (0.7)|     53 (0.6)| 3 (0.4)|482  (7.9)|26 (1.0)|522 (2.8) |18 (0.9)|522 (3.5) |53 (1.3) |516 (2.2)
Sweden ..................|59 (0.6)|62 (0.7)|63 (0.7)|57 (0.5)| 56 (0.7)|     52 (0.8)| 7 (0.6)|520  (6.0)|55 (1.2)|544 (3.2) |17 (0.8)|539 (4.9) |21 (0.9) |523 (4.9)
Switzerland\1\ ..........|56 (0.5)|58 (0.6)|59 (0.6)|58 (0.5)| 50 (0.7)|     51 (0.8)| 4 (0.3)|500  (8.3)|44 (1.2)|530 (3.1) |19 (0.8)|526 (6.2) |33 (1.1) |514 (3.5)
Thailand\1\ .............|57 (0.9)|56 (1.0)|66 (0.9)|54 (0.7)| 43 (1.2)|     62 (1.1)| 3 (0.3)|510  (8.8)|26 (1.0)|520 (4.0) |18 (0.7)|519 (4.3) |54 (1.5) |532 (4.1)
                         |        |        |        |        |         |             |        |          |        |          |        |          |         |
United States ...........|58 (1.0)|58 (1.0)|63 (1.1)|56 (0.8)| 53 (1.2)|     61 (1.0)|17 (1.1)|507  (9.5)|42 (0.9)|548 (4.1) |17 (0.7)|541 (5.2) |24 (0.8) |533 (5.7)
_________________________|________|________|________|________|_________|_____________|________|__________|________|__________|________|__________|_________|__________

\1\Countries not meeting all International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's sampling specifications.
---Data not available or not applicable.

NOTE.--Data are for 8th grade or equivalent in most countries. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Science Achievement in the Middle School Years: IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study, 1997, by Albert E. Beaton et al. Copyright @ 1996 Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. (This table was prepared June 1997.)


1999 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest